Boy, Girl,

BOY!!! We are having another boy! We are SO excited!

I have to admit I was nervous (maybe terrified is more accurate) when I thought about the idea of having 2 girls less than 2 years apart. Our little Alexis makes me smile till my cheeks hurt and laugh till my stomach hurts and I am beyond thankful and blessed to have her, but boy is she a sassy little thing. I think she may just be all the girl I am able to handle and apparently God thought so too!

Now we are thinking of names. I wanted another boy, but I was way more prepared to name another girl. Erik and I seem to agree easier on girl names. Thankfully we have plenty of time to decide. Matthew is still on a major Mario kick, so his name suggestion is Luigi. I told him if his baby brother came out wearing green overalls, speaking with an Italian accent, and carrying a Nintendo controller we will most definitely name him Luigi, so now you know what Matthew is praying for these days.

3 is.......

The amount of times Matthew asks me per minute if he can pretend to be some fictional character from a book, movie, or video game.

The number of times I tell Matthew per minute he can be whichever character he asked to be.

The number of times I have been to Walmart in the last week.

The number of months since I have last posted, haha..... I don't think it has quite been that long, but close enough.

The number of printers we have sitting around in our office/scrapbooking room/toy room/"there is no other place to put this thing" room.

The number of times Alexis has smiled at a complete stranger in her whole entire life thus far.

The amount of times each hour Alexis is tackled and a treasured object (belonging to her brother) is ripped from her hand.

The number of times each hour Alexis finds her brother tackling her absolutely hillarious.

The number of children we will have in our family by Thanksgiving 2010.

Hello again....

It has been awhile. As you may have discovered my New Year's resolution was not to blog more, or maybe you thought it was and I am just really terrible with resolutions which probably isn't that far from the truth. I wonder if there is like a "worst blogger of the year" award because if there is I am definitely on pace to bring home that trophy.
So there is a whole lot of normal going on here mixed in with some new stuff every once in awhile. Alexis turned 1 nearly 2 weeks ago. She just lived the fastest year ever! I hate that it seems like she is growing up so fast but at the same time it is so fun to see all the new things she can do. She is taking lots of steps. She is VERY independent. She is talking lots. She screams like she is mortally wounded whenever she doesn't get exactly what she wants. She eats just about anything (including lady bugs). She thinks her brother is absolutely hilarious. She does not talk (or smile) at strangers. And I just love her to pieces.
Matthew has discovered video games. I got out the old Nintendo a few months ago and he is completely in love with Mario! At first he called it the "Wii gaming system" which was great since it is pretty near the oldest video game system on the planet. Then we got a Wii from my parents for Christmas, so video game name confusion set in. Just recently he discovered the systems were made by the same company, so now he calls the Nintendo the "Wiitendo". It is great having the old Nintendo out. There are lots of good old Nintendo memories. I did nearly pass out the day we hooked it up though because of all the blowing necessary-Nintendo owners past and present you know what I mean (Rachel and Angela I was SO close to calling that help line number located just inside the flap). So Matthew is in love and asks 7,567 times a day if he can play some kind of video game. He has gotten pretty good and I can't help but love that he thinks I am the coolest person alive when I beat a level for him that he can't beat.

I am watching a little baby friend of ours three days a week now. She just turned 7 months old. I thought Alexis would be ridiculously jealous but she isn't really at all. She loves her baby friend. Alexis and her baby friend are only 5 months apart so that is nice most of the time mixed with some crazy at feeding time since both girls hate to see anyone eating if they are not, regardless of their actual hunger. Matthew does pretty well with the girls. He actually acknowledges they exist and on the rarest of occasions, if he doesn't think anyone is watching he tries to keep one or both of them from crying with some dancing, singing, or crazy faces.

I wanted to put on more pictures but it is taking forever and being crazy so I will put up more later, maybe even before Alexis turns 2.

Matthew's First (possibly last) Christmas Musical Performance

So Sunday was the big day. Matthew participated in the Christmas musical at church. I have always enjoyed productions including small children because you know there is no way it will go off without a hitch. I have always enjoyed the "hitches"..... that is until Sunday when my son was the "hitch".

I really wasn't nervous about this performance. Matthew had zero scripted lines. He was a sheep. His job was to sing with everyone else. I knew he wouldn't really sing all of the songs. After witnessing a practice I figured the worst thing that would happen is that he would replace all the words of the songs with "baa" since he seemed to be taking his sheep role very seriously.

When the children first entered on Sunday I was a little nervous because Matthew looked like he had been crying and was the only sheep without ears. I worried that maybe he didn't want to be a part of the show at the last minute and he would just stand and not sing at all. Well if I knew then what I know now I definitely would not have wasted my worry on that.

The children got on the stage and took their positions. There were 3 microphones and the children were a couple of steps back from them. Before the music started Matthew stepped up to the microphone and tapped it a bit just to test it out. He was obviously concerned with the sound quality so after the tapping he did a few crazy sounds with his mouth. I ensure you those mics were working and everyone heard and there was lots of laughter. If only he had stopped there. But no, my son had tasted victory, he had made people laugh so he felt the show, his show must go on.

In the end I believe the sheep who was originally scripted zero lines somehow had spoken the most. He told jokes. He did tricks. He was definitely under the impression that this was an "open mic" event. Mercifully, some very smart people turned the mic off closest to him after some time.

Many people mentioned afterward that their favorite part was in between songs when he stepped up to the mic lifted up his shirt pointed to his midsection and sang a little number which I would guess, was titled "belly button", since those were the only words. My personal favorite was when he decided to make a nest out of the hay on the stage. That was the only part in which I could breathe. That however was short lived. After the nest building he felt the need to tidy up the stage, so he collected the hay off the floor and returned it to the haystack nearly knocking over Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the huge backdrop.

He did sing a few words. The few words that he did sing were so loud you wouldn't have known any other children were singing at all.

Poor Erik's heart couldn't take the stress so he was in and out and completely missed the belly button part. Thankfully, my parents were there. I was torn between running to the stage and herding my little sheep off of it or hiding under my seat. My dad and I are alot alike so I assumed I would find him hiding under the seats too and we could talk about our best exit route, but he was too busy laughing himself to tears to join me.

Maize and Blue

Even when you are a baby girl and you are at the age when people only know your gender based on your clothing and you will clearly be better recognized as a girl in Ohio State red.....




you still wear your maize and blue.




Even when no one is expecting a Michigan win (except the true fans, of course)......



you still wear your maize and blue





Even when the closest Michigan gear to your size at your house is 10 times too big for you......


you still wear your maize and blue.




Even when you must give up your mobility due to the enormity of the hand me down Michigan outfit......you still wear your maize and blue.



Why you ask?

Because that is what the truest, bluest Michigan fans do to help bring their team to victory on game day (oh and in this case she can't dress herself).

Again

Hey if you missed the Kodak $15 thing last week that I posted about below, have no fear I hear it is going on again.

Free Pictures

I know alot of people already know about this, but I thought I would just share anyway. Kodak is giving away $15 worth of pictures or their picture gifts to the first ___ people (I forget how many people). So go here and sign up. They did this last week as well and I took advantage of it then and I think they are going to offer it again in the next couple of weeks but sign up now in case I am wrong :)

The Truth About Preschool

Ever since we attended the orientation night for preschool Erik has been worried that the school we (I) chose might not be academic enough. I, chose the only school in the area that had a curriculum and I am not so concerned with how much Matthew learns academically as much as I am concerned with him learning to sit and listen when needed and to play with other kids.

So every Tuesday and Thursday Erik asks Matthew about school. This is how it went down last night.....

Erik: So Matthew what did you do in school today? And don't say it was too long. (That is always Matthew's response because he thinks we want him to tell us every little thing he did all morning)

Matthew: Well it is too long to tell you.

Erik: You don't have to tell me everything you did. What did you learn today at school?

Matthew: Daddy, my preschool isn't really a learning kind of school. We play outside and today we watched the trucks fix the parking lot, but we don't learn anything.

Erik shoots me a glance that silently says "I told you he wasn't going to learn anything at that school".

Me, reminding the boy that he doesn't just play outside at school: Matthew tell Daddy what you did with your letters of the month today.

Erik: Oh yeah buddy, tell me about your letters.

Matthew: Oh yeah, we still use letters.



Erik is obviously totally convinced of preschool's awesome academicness now.

Better Than You Could Ever Imagine

I am SO very excited for my friend Rachel!!! She is my best girl from college. She and her husband have had a desire to be parents for a few years. Just yesterday, after years of waiting, crying, praying and trusting God with the desires of their hearts they met their beautiful baby boy from Korea.

I have been thinking about them and this meeting constantly. This morning I was able to see some pictures that were taken at this precious meeting and I can honestly say they are some of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen.

This got me thinking about life and about how God works in our lives. In our minds we picture how things are going to be. For Rachel, years ago she probably never imagined she would be meeting her son for the first time in an airport. But I would bet her meeting moment yesterday was better than she ever imagined. Some things go the way we always planned they would and then sometimes we get blessed with moments that are so very different than we planned, and surprisingly those are some of the most amazing moments we will ever experience.

So if you feel like bawling like a baby (not that I did or anything), go check out Rachel's best day ever!

Matthew Says--September Edition

When talking about his church "buddy barrel" that we collect money in each month.....

Matthew says "I am going to put this money in my buddy barrel because we need to get lots of money. We need to buy 2 meats and 2 loafs for 2 boys in Haiti that don't have any food."

When talking about those "tough times" in life....

Matthew says "Sometimes when life gets confusing you just need to snuggle with a mama."

Matthew says "TV can really lift kids spirits when they are sad mama."

When he saw this.....

Matthew says "Mama how could you let THIS happen to her???"

When walking through the door which is being held open by a lady with blue hair at Taco Bell....

Matthew says "Thank you and nice blue hair!"

When playing football with Daddy I suggest turning off the TV so he can give his full attention to playing.....

Matthew says "That's ok mama, God gave me 2 ears. One to listen to Daddy and the other one to listen to the TV."

When seeing the cats (Mac and Emma) fighting....

Matthew says "Go Emma! You're my mammal!"

When a cashier asks about his baby sister.....

Matthew says "I'm Matthew and she is Alexis. I'm the experienced one."

When pretending to be my repair man, pushing that button on the dryer that turns the light on and off (which I always have to tell him to quit playing with)......

Matthew says "I see your problem. I bet your child plays with this button all the time."

When the waitress at Chili's leaves the table laughing at something he has said and tells him to come visit her again soon....

Matthew says "I just made that girl's day."

When discussing dental hygiene.....

Matthew says "Mama, could I have some floss? I need to floss my canines."

When playing with me....

Matthew says "Pretend I'm unconscious."

When talking to a dog walking around the neighborhood without a person. My mom says she is going to check the tag to see if there is a name on it. After looking at the collar for a tag she tells Matthew it is missin'.......

Matthew says "Oh hi Missin'"

The Girl

The girl is now 7 months old (but let's not talk too much about that). I don't know if I have mentioned before that I dread the 5th of every month because it means I must accept the fact that my baby girl is one month older.
She is a solid food eater now (well ok she has been for a few months already I just have neglected to write about it). I have been making her food which is quite fun. She loves rolling around on the floor trying to grab whatever treasures her big brother has left behind. He is always concerned she might ruin something and when I tell him she is fine he says "But I think she has a plan", that I do not doubt.

Alexis is still a big girl. At her 6 month appointment she weighed in at 19lbs 6oz and was nearly 28 inches. I think she wore 6-9 month sized clothing for a week.

She is kind of a serious gal (I have no idea how that happened). Matthew smiled constantly as a baby and you've got to work hard most of the time to get Alexis to smile (well I don't so much, but most people do). She is loud and does not hide her emotions. When she is happy she is happy and when she is upset plug your ears to prevent hearing loss. My mom doesn't think she has ever encountered such a sassy baby before in her life. I will tell you though at this point she just makes me laugh. I have a feeling she is going to be a tough gal because everytime Matthew is doing something with her and I am about to say "Oh please be more gentle with her", she starts cracking up about whatever her brother is doing to her.

Yesterday at church we took part in the baby dedication with Alexis. She did great and even let the pastor hold her without screaming, very impressive. We are so very thankful that God chose to bless us with our sweet and sassy baby girl!

Matthew: The Preschooler

Matthew started preschool on Tuesday. He has been SO excited to start school. I, on the other hand have not been as excited, but I know he is ready to go so I am happy for him.

I picked this preschool out a couple of months ago and I took Matthew with me to tour the place. I told him we were going to be meeting the director of the preschool. So when we walked in Matthew walked right up to the first woman he saw, stuck his hand out and said "Hello director, my name is Matthew." Thankfully it was indeed the director and from there I barely got a word in because those 2 were deep in conversation. During the tour, the director would show him different rooms and Matthew would always say something like "This room is awesome (or amazing), director". In the drama room, there was a stage and a piano. Matthew offered to play his "Red Eye of Danger" song, the director said that would be wonderful and it was indeed a great number that I had never heard before.

Matthew definitely likes to be prepared. That is why his lunch bag was packed 2 weeks prior to his first day. What does a boy need in his lunch bag for a first day of preschool, you ask? According to Matthew, it is important to pack fruit snacks, hand sanitizer, and an electric pencil sharpener. That is what he had packed. Finally, Tuesday morning I was able to talk him into packing more food items, reassuring him that his school would indeed have hand sanitizer (or water and soap) and a pencil sharpener.

Once we got to school he tried to get rid of me in the parking lot. He felt like he could take it from there, but since I had a few questions for his teacher he allowed me to accompany him inside. Once inside, a staff person walked by and said hello, the boy says "Hello, I am a newcomer". So she kindly showed him to his room. He was in his room having fun before I could even get a goodbye hug! (Don't worry I didn't cry or anything, aren't I such a big girl??)

Later that afternoon I went to pick him up. There is a line of kids waiting to be picked up all holding books. As I am looking down the line searching for my little man I see kids holding books like One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and The Berenstains Bears Go To School. Then I spot my boy.....carrying this.....

Yep, he picked the 15 pound dictionary. The director is laughing and says "Um, we got to chose books from the library today and Matthew chose the dictionary". He says "Mama, I got this dictionary because I love information". He really does. He was upset when I told him we would have to take it back to school next week to trade it in for another one because he said it was the only information book they had. Hopefully, next week they will have another information book that is a bit lighter (and a few less words would be ok too).

So he really enjoyed school. He couldn't remember a single classmate's name, but he could remember what everyone ate for lunch. He made a picture and told me it was "a dangerous shark attack with a snake and a worm with super powers". He learned a hello song that they sing when they first get there. I asked to hear it on the way home but he informed me that song can only be sung in the morning and "we were losing daylight", so I was unable to hear it (there are obviously alot of preschool rules I am not aware of).

Some Kids REALLY Like Coupons

Matthew really enjoys picking up sales ads and such when we are shopping. They really make his day (some make his week). Recently at Target, I found these Transformer coupons. I don't know how Matthew even knows about Transformers, but wouldn't you know he LOVES them! He was so excited when I showed him these he said

"Can we really get these Mama?"
I said "Sure honey they are free."

Him "I am so excited, I can't believe you are getting me Transformers."

At the register "Mama make sure to get those Transformers. Cashier, my Mama is getting me some Transformers."

I showed the cashier the coupons so she didn't think I was stealing my son some toys.

We play with these like they are real action figures. We lost one once and boy was there drama. I think we have had them for a month now. I may need to laminate them.

This week Matthew picked this up at CVS.....

It is their "clip free coupon book". He looked at this "cbs newspaper" as he called it in the car, then took it into Food Lion, then into Publix and looked while we shopped. He made sure to tell a few Publix shoppers about some great foot cream deals available at CVS. He asked if he could take the "newspaper" with him for his rest time, I obliged. It also went with him to bed. He alerted Erik of several deals when he came to tell him goodnight. The next day it went everywhere with us, even into Walgreens and we didn't even get kicked out for perusing the competition's ads will shopping in their store. Matthew has had this "newspaper" since Monday and I don't think he has gone anywhere (including the restroom) without it.

Last week, I got him a lunch bag since he is going to be going to preschool in a month or so. He opened it when we got home and said "Oh it is my lucky day, there are money saving coupons inside".

Who needs toys when you can have money saving coupons? I know, I know our house is going to be the place for playdates once word gets out.

Anna this is for you! Matthew is loving the stickers. I think we will play with these like the Transformer coupons above. You have provided endless hours of fun, thank you!

Miraculous Moments

I did not stage these photos. No one is crying. No one was bribed with candy. I did not even suggest the boy do any of these things or even ask him to pretend just for a moment his sister existed. I merely observed these miraculous moments and photographed them.


Oh and yes Matthew does have a severe Crystal Light mustache. But when you are photographing miraculous moments, you do not ask the subjects first to wash their face, you just shoot.

A Few Questions for Today

This morning while getting ready to take Matthew to VBS
I Wonder........

How many times I have heard "Hey, Mama" this hour?

If our ears are only able to hear a certain amount of words in a lifetime before shutting down completely? (I may be nearing my quota)




When I see a young man park in the "new and expectant mother" spot at CVS
I Wonder......

When is he due?

If I should take a photo of him? (he will likely be famous soon, since pregnancy in males is kind of rare, that photo could make me rich)




When walking out to the van to go pick Matthew up from VBS
I Wonder.....

How in the world could I have left the side door open for 2 hours?

Will the van start? (It did by the way)




While eating lunch
I Wonder......

Would Matthew be ok eating pb&j for lunch for the rest of his life?

What did I eat?

Really why can't I remember what I ate? (maybe I should ask Matthew, he probably remembers)



When getting Matthew up from a little rest time
I Wonder.....

How can he possibly stand to be covered up in a fleece blanket when the thermostat right outside his door reads 84 degrees?

Was he wearing that outfit when I last saw him?



Moments ago while passing by the bathroom mirror
I Wonder......

Has my hair ever been this long before?

Why is it so knotty?

What is that thing in my hair?

How long have I been toting this baby booger around in my hair?

Update: VBS Gets an "A" Today

Meet "Gator School" 's biggest fan......

Sweat + Dirt + a Gator Puppet = A Smile on this Boy's Face

The VBS Report

Matthew is going to VBS (Vacation Bible School) for the first time ever this week. I was a little nervous because sitting still is not his specialty. The church we are going to right now is small and does not have VBS so he is going to a different church where we do not know a soul. This does not at all bother my boy (he is so much braver than me).

He chose this particular VBS because it had a gator on the sign. Although, he almost changed his mind when he saw another church was having "Kangaroo school". I have been talking with him about it the last couple of days and he has been pumped for "Gator school".

I felt maybe he been slightly misled by the sign (and maybe me) when he kept asking me these questions on the way this morning:

"Do you think they will have an alligator statue, Mama?"

"Mama, will they tell me all the gator information there?"

"I wonder if they will have a baby cayman for me to touch?"

Yikes! I was pretty worried that his first day of VBS could very well be his last, if he wasn't sufficiently chucked full of alligator info by noon.

When I picked him up I, of course, asked how it went.

I got this response "I didn't know they were going to sing such long songs at gator school."

Strike One!

Then came off the necklace he had made (that appeared to have nothing to do with alligators). I cheerfully say "Oh wow, what a cool necklace you made."

His response "No, my teacher made this for you because I told her I only like to make cool gator things." (In reality, the child does not like to make ANYTHING. I do not think he has a crafty bone in his body. You are probably thinking, how could he possibly be MY child when I am so crafty and all??? I know, I know it is a mystery).

Strike Two!

I then see a bracelet he got that looked gatory and say "Well you did get this neat bracelet that looks like an alligator."

He says "Yeah, but it doesn't have a head."

(I normally don't expect bracelets to come with heads, but then again I am not a 4 year old boy, so I guess our expectations could differ slightly.)

Strike Three!

Next, he says "I am starving because I don't like salad and cherry tomatoes." I am kinda having a hard time envisioning 4 year olds being given a salad and cherry tomato snack. I don't really think that was the snack, but just in case I might stick around for snack time tomorrow because I would love a salad.

Strike Four! (Yeah, yeah I know there is no such thing as four strikes, but what can I say I am generous)

So at this point I am pretty much thinking it is going to be torture to get him to go to the not-as-gatory-as-he-had-hoped school tomorrow when all of the sudden the clouds parted and the sun appeared.

Matthew says, "There were so many kids there. I didn't know who to meet first. At first, I thought it was a school, but then they talked about God, so I think maybe it is a church. And I get to go back for 56 days!"

Apparently, he is the kind of kid who likes to share the "bad news" first.

*Oh and on a completely unrelated note, for those of you wondering about the beefy baby's poundage, here are Alexis' 4 month stats: 17 lbs. 6 oz. and the height is somewhere in the 26's near 27 in (I don't remember exactly).

Alexis Meets Grandma and Grandpa

Last week Erik's parents came from MI for a visit! They got to meet the girl and play with the boy. We had a great time and I sure do wish we didn't live so far apart.
Fun times! The kids are still trying to get adjusted back to real life where the adult to child ratio is 1:2 most of the time rather than the 4:2 they were enjoying last week!

4 Months Old

Alexis turned 4 months old yesterday. She is a happy, smiley girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to squeal until she gets it. She rolled over once. She hates to be on her tummy. She loves to pull my hair and have a fist full of hair in each hand (she would definitely cry if I got my hair cut). Alexis LOVES her Daddy. She can be in the crankiest mood and as soon as her Daddy talks to her, she is all smiles and happy chatter. She is really starting to take an interest in watching her big brother and what he is up to, so now she should never be bored ever again.

Her legs and arms are always moving and she must always be sitting straight up unless she is being rocked. She has slept through the night the last 3 nights (woohoo!!!).

We have her 4 month appointment this week so I don't have her stats yet, maybe I will post them later this week. (But, come on, this is my SECOND post of the day, what is the likelihood I will post 3 times in one week! Ha..no really I will try.)

I Think A License Should Be Required To Operate These....

Of course, if a license were in fact required mine would most certainly be revoked due to reckless clipping.

It seems that I am TERRIBLE at clipping baby finger nails. Erik used to clip Matthew's when he was a baby. I am completely capable of clipping his now, but poor Alexis on the other hand would have some horrible stories to tell you if she could talk.

The first time the clipping went completely wrong was Sunday February 8, 2009. That's right folks, Alexis was just three tiny days old and it was our very first day home. Her nails were incredibly long and her face looked like a painful line graph with all the scratches. So while Erik was showering, I decided I was completely capable of cutting my baby girl's finger nails and decided to put an end to her self inflicted pain. I was thinking "Don't worry tiny baby, Mama is coming to the rescue!". I was picturing myself in a cape, standing tall with wind whipping through my hair and cape all while heroic music played. Her finger was bleeding 4.7 seconds later.

Maybe I can sell my cape on ebay.

I felt horrible. She was bleeding. I cut her teeny tiny finger on her first day home. She was probably contemplating going back to the hospital hoping that she had been switched at birth and that her "real" mom was a proficient baby nail clipper.

Matthew just so happens to hate getting his nails clipped. He always tells me it hurts and then I laugh and laugh, and say "No it doesn't, silly". So he walks on to the nail clipping scene and sees Alexis' teeny tiny bleeding finger and me with the nail clippers in my hand and says "What happened to Awexis?". "Um........she hurt her finger", I say. That isn't a lie right? She did in fact have a hurt finger. For once in his life he didn't ask for specifics.

That was the first time and unfortunately, not the last.

So, is anyone looking for a very part time (so part-time, let's call it part-of-a-part-time) baby nail clipping job? The job doesn't pay much (actually it doesn't pay anything at all), but you can have all the ice water you can drink while you are here! Qualified applicants only, please. This child's fingers can't take anymore rookie clipping.

Matthew Says

When asked why he was crying for me in the middle of the night by Daddy....

Matthew says "I just love Mama so much, I can't take off my love for her."

When playing construction with Papine (grandpa)....

Matthew says "My guys left a note for your guys it says, Dear Construction Workers, I'm afraid I have to work somewhere else. Sincerely, Don't forget to blink"

When asked to clean up his toys....

Matthew says "I only clean for candy"

When asked about craft time at church....

Matthew says "Oh man, I missed it again!"

When talking about Alexis' time at church....

Matthew says "Did Alexis learn to crawl in her class today?"

I laughingly say "No."

Matthew says "Well what did she do then?"

When trying Frosted Flakes this morning...

Matthew says "Mama I do like this cereal you were wrong, wrong, wrong."

When talking about something I don't really remember....

Matthew says "Now I am concerned on a number of levels."

When being a little bit of a stinker and getting in trouble with Daddy...

Matthew says "You really should be nicer to me."

When telling Daddy about his day and how he got to play at the park, Daddy mentions how nice it was for me to take him there.....

Matthew says "Well it was MY idea."

The Monsters Have Arrived

Yes, we now have monsters in the Smith home. We do try to be hospitable as a rule here in our home, but I must say the monsters were completely uninvited and most definitely have worn out their welcome.

I have not seen one myself and as a matter of fact, I don't think anyone has really spotted one, so a visual description is not available at this time. However, someone in our family deeply feels their presence, thus making nearly all of us well aware that monsters are in deed here.

Like most monsters, ours are nocturnal. They reside exclusively in Matthew's room. I really wish they would have chosen mine and Erik's room because I feel we are better equipped to coexist with them.

Our monsters may seem like other monsters, they are nocturnal, choose to live in a young child's room and have never actually been spotted, but our monsters are unique in this; they love to be read to. Their love of books, keep Matthew up nearly all night reading with his room light, closet light and 2 night lights on. Even though Erik and I have made it very clear that those big lights should not be on, Matthew feels the need to be obedient to the monsters and the obvious monster wrath that would ensue if he chose to turn out the lights and stop reading.

While having uninvited monsters live in your son's room is not at all ideal, I am happy that our monsters are book loving monsters. I just wish they would learn to read for themselves so that they wouldn't keep the boy up (also, if they are going to require so much electricity, it wouldn't hurt if they contributed some cash for the electric bill as well).

Easter pics and other stuff

We had a wonderful Easter and I hope everybody else did too!

On Friday morning my Mom brought over eggs for Matthew to color. He had a great time dropping every egg in every color so that by the time he was through no one was able to identify the color of any of them. My personal favorite is one he named "the eye of danger". On Friday afternoon, there were some really severe storms throughout the whole state. I decided it might be a good time to clean out our severe storm safety bunker (a.k.a. our teeny tiny coat closet). We had a tornado warning and very strong winds and rain. We lost power for only about 20 minutes. Matthew thought it would be fun to hang out in the closet, so we did for awhile. He was making shadow creatures with the light from my cell phone and taking pics in the dark. Alexis was not nearly as fond of closet time.

Easter Sunday we went to church and then over to my parents to eat and have an egg hunt. Erik was asked to play the drums for a song on Sunday and it was awesome. Alexis was crowned best behaved baby in the nursery on Easter! I did not expect a nomination in that category let alone a win. She often snags the cranky pants of the day award here at home. The last few days have been good though so maybe she is growing out of the crankies.

You can tell by this picture that Alexis is obviously a huge fan of dressing up. This was her first time wearing a dress.

Matthew got the Bolt movie (a new Disney movie starring a dog) in his Easter basket so he was, of course, Bolt most of the day. Erik said to him at one point "I love you, buddy." Matthew says "Ok, I am still Bolt, but I appreciate your love for dogs."

Yesterday was Erik's birthday. We got to go to a grown up dinner all on our own where people serve you. It was awesome. On a side note, I ate ALL of my dinner and Erik had to box his up and bring it home (due to some bread and appetizer eating and yes Josh if you are reading this that totally makes me the papa bear). Also, Alexis was actually a good girl while we were gone, despite the fact that her favorite evening pastime is screaming. She did start crying though as soon as she heard my voice just to make me feel missed..what a sweetie! And Matthew was all weepy saying "I weally missed you" and kissed me on the head. I adore my job of caring for these precious little people and my Erik!

2 Month Stats

At the doctor's yesterday Alexis weighed in at 13lbs 7oz and she is a little over 24in long putting her in the 97th percentile in weight and height. We left the big brother at home with my mom because he is a little under the weather and desperately needed a rest time, so there are no funny Matthew sayings to add. Alexis screamed during her shots and continued for many minutes after so I would not forget how unhappy she was about that experience. Poor girl doesn't even know this is only the begining of the shots. Please nobody tell her or she will refuse to go to her 4 month appointment.