Tuesday Funnies

Sara Kate cracks me up. All.the.time. She's always doing silly things, but I got so tickled tonight because what she did was so funny, yet, it made her seem like such a big girl. I was running her bath a good bit later than normal because we had to stay by the TV to watch victory snatched from the hands of our Razorback basketball team by the stupid Ole Miss Carebears...ANYWAY. I was running her bath. I always ask her if she wants to go potty before bath, even though she's normally way too interested in seeing the bubbles in the bath. "Bubbles!! My bath!! Bubbles!!" Tonight before I said anything about the potty, she went to her room, grabbed a book, and climbed up on the big potty instead of her little one. Seriously, she cracks me up. And I thought it was ironic that she grabbed her 'University of Arkansas 101' book since we had just been watching the Hogs and practicing our Hog Call (which she really likes the 'Wooooo' part).
She was perfectly content sitting on the potty like a big girl reading her book, and when it was time to take the diaper off and get in the bath, oh my goodness, you would have thought I was harming that child. "My book! My book! My book!" Along with some serious screaming. You see, she gets a bath every night, but she ESPECIALLY had to have a bath tonight because she got spaghetti everywhere during dinner. She ate, she played with it, she dumped the bowl in her lap and on the floor while trying to 'drink' out of the bowl. It was in her hair, down her back, almost in her eye, under her fingernails, etc. In other words, must take a bath! I didn't get an 'after' picture, but I think this one was pre-dump.
I need to go check the washer because it's finished running, but I gotta imagine by the sheer amount of red sauce that was all over her front, back, bottom, sleeves, etc., this dress is becoming at-home-play-clothes. So that was our night. A spaghetti mess, watching basketball, and reading books. Good times.

Outside

Northwest Arkansas has experienced some absolutely beautiful weather this week. I'm talking 60's and close to 70 for a high! In February! Sara Kate LOVES the outside (or didide as she calls it). At school they have spent plenty of time outside, including recess time and their gross motor skill activity the other day was walking around the building in a line. One afternoon recently, we even spent a little time at the park. Sara Kate had a wonderful time and knew exactly what we were getting ready to do when we drove up. She gets so excited about going to the park, it's very cute.

She even got brave and went down the big spiral slide by herself. She and another little boy did a good job taking turns.
This particular park has this train in the play area. She would go from car to car, sit on the bench, look out the 'windows,' and she even took a turn at the wheel 'driving' the train.
We had a great time at the park, like we always do, and a certain almost-two-year old didn't want to leave! But some kisses from mommy and chasing daddy helped us get to the car!
I've spent a good bit of time outside this week at work, trying to get caught up on some field work. Today was kind of crazy...let me tell you, or show you, what I saw!

An eagle (WOW!!)! Actually we saw several, but this one was pretty close and was flying really low to the ground, as he had just taken off from sitting on a pond bank. I always find it so fascinating whenever I get to see these big birds this time of year.
A camel (YEP, RANDOM!!).
And cows are nothing out of the ordinary for me to see, but this herd of calves were pretty cute and the intern I had with me wanted me to snap their pic because her phone died.
Along with seeing all kinds of crazy stuff (mainly, the camel in town but being so close to the eagle was pretty cool), we also got the truck stuck in the mud after crossing a creek. Seems like it's never a dull moment out on the farm!

Hope you have been experiencing some beautiful weather wherever it is you are!

Happy 4th Birthday Hannah!

Yesterday, our precious niece Hannah turn 4 years old!! Can't believe that sweet girl is 4! Seems like yesterday she was a newborn...

But now's she's a big 4 year old!
She's into ALL things princess so that was the theme of her party. Chris had to be out of town for a school function so Sara Kate and I rode over to Berryville with Bob and Sharon. Sara Kate and Hannah love to see each other and they are able to interact more and more every time they are together. It's really adorable to see Sara Kate wanting to do EVERYTHING Hannah does, down to tapping her foot, climbing on the stool, drinking a juice box, sitting in a chair, etc.
Hannah got all kinds of fun stuff, princess clothes for her dolls, an Aerial doll that swims in the tub (which she had to go try out), books to help her learn her ABC's and 123's, a t-ball set and glove and balls, and from Chris, Sara Kate and I, she got a princess scooter!!
(She has on her swimsuit because she had to get in the tub to try out her Aerial swimming doll. She's silly!)After presents it was cake time! Sharon picked up the cake from our favorite local bakery, Rick's Bakery here in Fayetteville. I had to smell that cake sitting beside me the whole way to Berryville! :-)
We sang 'Happy Birthday' and then she kept singing 'happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me'...it was pretty cute. Sara Kate climbed on the stool and quickly wanted cake because Hannah had cake but also because the girl is like her mama and loves cake! Jenny cut her a piece and I was helping her with her fork. I looked away for one second to answer whether I wanted chocolate or vanilla and Sara Kate helped herself! It was like it was her own birthday all over again. She cracks me up.
Hayden even got in on the action to practice for his own first birthday, which is in a little over a month!
We had a great day celebrating with our favorite niece. Hannah, happy 4th birthday...we love you to pieces!

Dinner Theatre by Sara Kate

These pictures listed below will MORE than speak for themselves, but let me say that we were eating Broccoli & Cheese soup, the kind you can buy at Sam's that's from Panera Bread Co. We love this soup! We can buy a package, which comes with 2 containers. A couple minutes on the stove to warm it up and it's ready! Super easy! So we get 2 meals out of it, and it feeds 3 people each meal (well, 2 adults plus a toddler who may or may not want to eat it all), and it costs about $9.00. We think it's a great deal (plus it's yummy!)! Not only do Chris and I love this soup, but 95% of the time, Sara Kate loves it too. Tonight was one of those nights. Oh, and I've never been able to get her to eat broccoli (I've always had to hide little tiny pieces when I gave her a bite to get her to eat it) but tonight she was picking out the big pieces and eating them like it was candy! Fantastic! So without further ado, we present 'Tonight's Dinner,' by Sara Kate Michaels.

I think I'll be a big girl and use my spoon to eat my soup...
On second thought, I think I'll hold my spoon and pick the broccoli out with my hand...
Well, maybe I'll just put down the spoon and use both hands...yep, much better...
Hmmm, it's kind of hard eating soup with my hands...maybe I'll just drink it...
Oh yes, much better...
Oh, this is just the perfect way to eat soup! Mess?? What mess??
THE END!!!

22 Months

Sara Kate, you are 22 months old!! What have you been up to?

Where's Sara Kate's head?
Where are Sara Kate's eyes?
Where is Sara Kate's mouth?
- You are learning so much in school right now! You can say the name of your teacher and you can even say the names of some of your friends. You are learning letters, numbers, shapes, how to trace things (like letters), you practice writing your name, you practice coloring in the line, you play with Play-Doh and puzzles, you sing songs and know the motions to lots of songs (your teachers say you love song time), you are learning your manners, you have different activity centers during the day...I could go on and on! It is very evident to us that you are thriving at school, and that makes us so happy. The only negative about your school day is that we are still dealing with terrible separation anxiety when I drop you off. You are so excited to get to school, and you want to walk in by yourself but when its time to walk into your class you cling to me and want me to hold you. Then you cry when I leave. I know the crying doesn't last long as your teachers are good about redirection, but it still makes me sad to hear you crying as I leave. But I know you LOVE going to school and have a wonderful time because sometimes you don't want to leave at the end of the day!
- When we get home from school, you immediately want a snack. You take your coat off and say 'mama' and run to the pantry. Your favorite snacks right now are veggie straws, graham crackers, goldfish, and Ritz crackers. For a special treat you get a Hershey Kiss.
- Dinner time is definitely messy!!! You are very independent when it comes to eating. You want your plate and your spoon/fork on your tray (or sometimes my plate and fork!)! You are doing well with a spoon but your favorite thing to do is start eating with a utensil, then hold the utensil and eat with your hand. You aren't very adventurous when it comes to trying new things. Some days you can be very picky and some days you eat everything we give you. Everyday is a new day when it comes to eating!!
- Your sleeping is back on track, although a few nights lately you have thought bedtime equals play time! But once you go to bed, you sleep great at night. Bedtime is around 8, and during the week I wake you up between 6:45-7 and on the weekends you can sleep in until 8:00-9:00.
- You are working on new teeth right now! Currently, you have your top 4 teeth, your bottom 4 teeth, both of your top 2 year molars, and both of your bottom 2 year molars. You are working on your I-teeth. At first I thought it was just the bottom ones, but I see little holes where the top ones will be soon. You have been in a great mood lately, but you have been drooling like nothing I've ever seen before! After your nap the other day, your whole shirt was completely soaked as was the sheet in your bed. The gums are sore and red in those spots so hopefully they come in soon. It seems that you've had so many teeth come in lately!
- Your vocabulary has really picked up over the last month! You are saying so many new words and you will repeat things when we ask you to. I tried to start a list of words you say so I wouldn't forget and here's what I can remember: mama, dada, dog, cat, duck, Poppa, bubble, paper, my, me, bib, bow, ball, my bow, my bib, my ball, my book, more, bath, bird, apple juice, water, eye, mouth, ear, teeth, that, what's that, where did it go, where's my mom, out, one, I love you, all done, go, no, yes/yeah, car, hi, bye-bye, Elmo, snack, drink, and stop. I'm sure I am forgetting some, but you seem to say new words every day!
- Some of your favorite things include books (you LOVE books!), blocks, any ball (you like to say my ball!), being outside, you love to see the dogs in the morning and when you get home from school, you love to eat, you still love watching your Baby Einstein videos, you love your best friend Grayson, you love going to Meme's house, you love putting a bow in your hair (and you say my bow!), you love to jump, you love to be silly, and you absolutely LOVE music.
- We think it might be time to start potty training soon. You know when you have a dirty diaper, and you will point to your bottom and get a diaper and go to the changing table or lay on the floor. Recently, you have been very interested in the potty and will point to the potty and then your bottom and you say 'pee-pee,' or something like that. We just got you a new potty and you know you sit on it and close the lid. That's as far as it's gotten right now!
- Your hair is getting so long and it can be so crazy in the mornings!! It cracks me up to see what your hair looks like when you wake up. It's very fine but it curls up when it's wet or it's humid.
- You have learned how to climb on all the furniture. Or I should say, all of a sudden you are tall enough to be able to climb onto the furniture! Unfortunately you like to stand and jump on things once you climb up so we are working on teaching you NOT to do that!
- You are starting to get a little temper and attitude when things don't go your way. When something isn't going right you will hit or pull my hair. We work on 'be nice, nice hair' and no hitting by giving your hand a little pat but that doesn't always work, although getting your hand patted gets your attention and it hurts your feelings. On occasion you will try to bite or have come up behind me and bitten my leg, and that is a big no-no! I haven't heard of you getting in trouble for any of that at school so I assume (and hope!) it's just your attitude at home.
- You are wearing size 18 month clothes, although 18 month shirts are too short. I think you might have a long torso like me. Your 18 month pants still fit fine or are too big. Your dresses are 18 month, too. You also wear size 18 month pajamas.
- You wear size 4 shoes, although your size 4 boots have gotten too small. We recently found you a pair of size 5 boots on clearance to get through the rest of the winter.
- You wear size 4 diapers.
- You are the apple of our eye, and we are so blessed to call you ours, sweet Sara Kate! We love you!!