Silly Willie and the Stairs

I was getting ready to leave for Gainesville this morning, and Shawn was watching William. I came in to get him after I loaded the car, and he was perched on the bottom stair. He was so adorable I had to snap a few pictures. The hilarious part came once I started pointing the camera. He was hamming it up, smiling big toothy smiles, waving his arms, leaning forward and squinting his eyes. I couldn't get enough...

He got distracted from his photo session when my friend Linda walked in and said, Willie! She feeds him banana pudding and cookies so she is well loved by the Willie-meister.

How Could You Not Love Him?

I mean, really, how could you not?!

A Momma's Confession

Dear William,
I'm sorry. As your mother, I was meant to protect you, to shield you from all that makes childhood memories nonmemorable. And yet, here I am, posting your sweet baby body on a blog, for all to see. Forgive me, I just had to do it. Yes, you will hate this picture, but know this--I have some hidden away that make this one look like a walk in the park. So don't even blink those baby blues at me when you're a teenager and you're late coming home. Because I have weapons you can't even imagine. And, like the good momma I try to be, I'm not afraid to use them.
Love, Momma

William making "rain", the water droplet looks so cool!

Her Sweetness, having a blast in the tub with Willee-um as she calls him. (It's a three-syllable name you know.)

Those eyes are happy here but wait till she's not smiling! Always interesting, these pictures of gap-tooth extraordinaire! Katy is my "I love baths" girl!

AQUA or nothing!

Sarah's room, is well, WOW! At first, it was hideous in the paint can. Mom and I both sucked in our breath. But we got rolling, and suddenly, well, WOW! It looked great! The white trim never looked so good. Something happens when Sarah picks colors, they seem like Oh Dear God color, but then, they settle on you, and everyone loves it! Unfortunately, she has no bed. The poor child is sleeping on an air mattress. The good news is she wants our bed (how the heck did that happen) and we are thrilled to buy a new one for OURSELVES! Anyway, her room is not complete, but I will post more pictures later.

Sarah conked out after a busy weekend, Emily slept over, church early this morning, and then over to Ariel's house for a playdate. After that she scootered over to the museum to meet Daddy and the others (Momma was making Greek salads for dinner, yum!) but had to come back because she was so tired. She hasn't woken up yet and now it's 8:10. I'm thinking she will sleep the night at this rate. Aqua and chocolate, love that soft faux fur chocolate throw from Target!

More glitter curtains for all, I still want some kind of white liner curtain for privacy, that's coming next.

New Boudoirs in Progress

Mom and I worked all day to get Katy and Izzy's rooms into shape. We freshened up dinged walls, dusty baseboards, even removed install stickers on the windows! It was quite a project. When they got home from school, they were floored! Katy has never had her own room, so it was especially exciting for her. Some of us didn't get our own room till we almost finished college but we won't get into the details of that one. Katy really wanted her room painted purple, but having spent another full day painting my old pukey green room a violent Caribbean blue for Sarah, I said absolutely not. So we added everything purple and it looks great. She even makes her bed every morning now! If I had only known I would've done it months ago!

Izzy moved into the pink room, even though it's bigger than Katy's. We did this because A) it was pink, and ditto on the painting from above, B) she has bigger toys, and C) Izzy and Katy always seem to end up in Izzy's room, even if it's the small one.

Check Katy's face: I took this in a pitch black room, except for the DVD mounted at the end of the bed. They are watching Madeline and had no idea I was standing there. Also, check the pink velvet storage stool, it has a rhinestone heart button on top, very Isabelle. Gotta love clearance stuff at Target. FYI--the Hardy Boys series and Nancy Drew series in the shelves are not for a super-advanced preschooler, they are moving to Sarah's room as soon as we get a bookshelf.

Glittery curtain for all... The best part of this new room is unseen. It is the most amazing thing! Izzy has now kept her panties dry at night for 6 nights running. Last week she said, Momma, I am so sick of pull-ups, I just don't want to wear them anymore. I said, you get one week of trying, then back to pull ups. And... NOTHING! Not a drop! She's amazing! Keep in mind that Katy still wears pull-ups, Sarah did till 2nd grade, her father wet till he was ten, and her mother till she was twelve and on medication ! I mean, this is downright heroic! Hallelujah, I love a strong-willed kid sometimes! GO IZZY!

Izzy and the Party

Our girls always like it when we attend their class parties, whatever the occasion. Sometime we go, sometimes we don't. The kids always love William and Izzy. Today we thought we'd surprise the girls and show up for the Valentine's Day party. Sweet William has had a yucky nose and slight cough for a couple days so I thought I'd keep him home. Shawn said he'd go and amazingly, Izzy agreed to go with him! (She had a fit when I went walking without her this morning! Very attached, still!) So, Princess Izzy decides that what she was wearing was inappropriate for a Heart Day Party and proceeds to get all dressed up. I even let her snag a good bit of lipstick left over from Sarah's ballet recital! Then we had to take pictures in just about every spot in the living room. Here are the results.

Gotta love the pink sparkly headband with the red dress... but it gets better....

SO gotta love the hot pink crocs with the red tights! She was so excited! They're off to the party so I'm off to clean the bathrooms. How did this happen to me?! I should've picked the party... At least I've made my Valentines for my sweethearts... Izzy and I had crafts this morning and made some quick but fun little Valentines for the girls. I'll try to blog those later today when the recipients have them in hand!

The Couches Three

They've arrived! The couches came this afternoon and are PERFECT! The kids love them and...

Ten minutes after arrival and look who's sleeping.... Yikes, that endtable has endured way too much.

We'll probably scoot these closer but right now William likes the space. Maybe he'll start cruising if we have something to cruise on!

Party at the Park

A little friend of ours turned two today and we went to the park to celebrate! It was a gorgeous day, breezy, cool, and sunny! Florida perfect!

Katy and Izzy play in the bubble machine

William is, well, addicted to walking. He can't stop. He's compulsive. He must walk or else. Sarah was not excited about a two year old's party and this is how she spent almost the entire time. Strangely, she wanted to keep doing it even after the party was over.

Looking all kinda handsome in his overalls and Polo shirt! Clean face here but two seconds later he ate a large helping of grass and wood chips.

That bubble machine was too cool, had I known this I wouldn't have spent four of the last eight years blowing bubbles for my children to pop them in my face. For some reason, they don't grasp that the bubble must leave the wand or YOU DON'T GET TO POP IT! Or maybe they DO grasp that... Hmmmmm...

More Adventures...

Did I mention Mr. Ostrich was superclose? I meant SUPER.... I think he looks a little like, "Ok, come on wise guys, this is my naptime!"

Willie in GG's hand-knit blue sweater, perfect for the overcast morning.

Here's Ole Silverback, just before I got there evidently he had been beating his chest. Naptime for him, too?

Animal Kingdom Adventures

We took the kids to Animal Kingdom in Orlando on Friday. We went with Jonny and Jenny and their three biddlies. It was a great day, perfect weather, lunch from home, and well-behaved little ones--ALL DAY! It was truly amazing! They enjoyed everything very much. We started off on a safari ride over rickety bridges, through muddy water, and up CLOSE to the animals. The ostrich was literally sitting two feet from the jeep. The rhinoceros was maybe ten feet at the most. Even William knew it was cool, he stood on Shawn's lap for most of the trip!


Sarah, Savannah, and Katy enjoy the birds and fish of the rainforest. This is just before we all got SOAKED on the Kali River Rapids Ride. Katy and I endured the worst of it, Shawn managed to con his way into a poncho from a guy getting off the ride before us. He says he offered it to me, but really we were already strapped in and there was no chance for that. Fifteen seconds later, the first "douser" hit and BOOM, soaking wet Momma. We squealed like little piggies and had a great time, Katy laughed hysterically when we went down a large hill and water poured in the opposite side of the boat. The poor guy sitting there was not one bit dry, and quite a bit chilled, I'm afraid.

This is Mr. Rhinoceros who came over to the jeep to see "Wassup?"

A kids Discovery Club leader helps the kids "track" a rhino in the wilderness

Izzy checks out the baby gorilla picking bugs off himself and eating them. She was amazed by how he tucked the hair on his arm under his chin to keep good access to those pesky buggies.

A Windy Day

A very windy afternoon has prompted us all to go outside and enjoy no-bug weather! Katy practices for the upcoming American Heart Association Jump-A-Thon, she'll probably hit you all up for donations shortly...

Izzy gets her cardio on the good ole Sit N Spin. Thankfully the batteries are long since dead so it no longer plays songs as you spin. She's a pro at that thing, though. Lightning fast she is.

Speaking of lightning fast, here's Mr. Happy. Cruising in the walker, just ate grits, watching sisters play, windy afternoon, does life get any better?

Having given himself a good workout in the walker, William enjoys a couple of tasty fingers. Aaaaah, contentment found.

Izzy Bakes Cookies

Izzy came into the kitchen this morning as I was unloading the dishwasher, put her hands on her hips, and announced, "Momma, I'm ready to bake!" I asked her what she would like to bake today, and her usual reply came out, "Chocolate chip cookies!" She very carefully measured the sugar, flour, and salt. She cracked the eggs all by herself and WOW--no shells! She works the KitchenAid by herself now, no help from Momma. She will ask me, "just a little bit" or "medium" or "a lotta mixin'?" Izzy is a careful baker and likes to leave the dough scooping to Momma while she eats her two spoons of dough! Mmmmm... As you can see, the results were delicious! She is working on putting the cookies on a plate, supposedly for Daddy but probably for her! It's a lot of fun for both of us, Willie sleeping all the while. Her next "class" will focus on the washing dishes aspect of cookie-making!