Daddy's Girl

Belle has officially written me off and become a sold-out Daddy's girl. The past few weeks have been "Daddy this.... Daddy that." She insists that Daddy, and only Daddy, wake her up, put her to bed, get her dressed, change her diaper (that I don't mind!!), snuggle, play, carry her and anything else in between. She will stick up that bottom lip and pout to Daddy and ask for the moon. Literally. She wants the moon like Mr. Gru in Despicable Me.

It's pretty darn cute to watch these two. Derek might act all annoyed that he is her one and only desire-- but he's pretty smitten with the attention. I snapped this pic one night when she insisted that he snuggle in her little bitty bed and I just LOVE the way they are looking at each other.

I had to beg Derek to let me share this picture. He is concerned that the interwebs would doubt his manliness and consider him a softie. Please note that Derek is a skilled soldier who collects and likes to shoot guns as a hobby. On another note, Belle's Sunday school teacher informed me yesterday that Belle was boasting proudly about her daddy in class... albeit in the most embarrassing and awkward way. Oh, from the mouths of babes.

It should be noted that Belle is perfectly pleased for me to cater to her needs and demands when I am the only option. We snuggle, we play, we laugh. It's only when Daddy is around that I become chopped liver. Or Grandpas. Or anyone besides me, really. On a daily basis, I hear "but I don't like/want you." It's prepping me for the teenage years I guess. 

Fake Skateboarding

Fake skateboarding was once an activity reserved for my before-I-met-him husband and his college roommate while they made pointless videos in the claim of comedy. This was pre-YouTube and so I lack evidence to show you the ridiculousness. Plus, I'd like to keep it hidden so when I'm lecturing Jackson about needing to take college seriously and study hard, I can avoid conversations like, "But Dad used to...." 

But today, fake skateboarding was reintroduced into my life.

My kids have been dying to visit to the skatepark that they can see when we play at the playground. If we go to the park in the afternoon, Jackson will just sit and watch the kids skateboard and do all sorts of tricks. He's fascinated! There have always been kids actually skateboarding when we've been to the park recently, but today it was empty and my kids were thrilled. 

They fake skateboarded for almost half an hour!

They slid down the ramps

And climbed

And had lots and lots of fun!! 

Jackson has asked for a skateboard for his birthday. I told him that skateboarding might be a fun thing to do when he turns nine. I had to write it down here so I can at least be consistent when he asks again. Even when age nine comes around, he'll still have to wear a mega-ridiculously safe helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and pillows duck taped around his body too!

But as for fake skateboarding-- he can do that all he wants! Just hopefully not in the wee hours of the morning, at age 19, in his dorm room, making a movie! But who knows, if he turns out much more like his father... it just might happen. 

Just another photo dump post

Oh, hello there! So, I know I haven't been around here much. Here's the deal. So we made the decision as a family to eliminate processed foods with all the additives, preservatives, and so on and so forth. And it's been three weeks and it's been going well (and delicious)! The only downside is that I have been cooking everything, for every meal, three times a day... EVERYDAY! It's getting easier the more it becomes our new normal, but then there's still the planning and then the clean up! I feel like it's all I think about... which in turn fills up all of my blogging ideas.

Oh, and I'm studying for the National Counseling Exam (the test I have to pass to secure state licensure) and boy does it ever make me feel as if I learned nothing in grad school! It's keeping me humble. Hopefully the paperwork comes quickly so I can get registered and get the silly test over with! I'm done with tests!!!

Okay, so now for the reason I know most of you are here anyway-- kids pictures. Here's my latest Instagram photo dump from the past few weeks.

Belle applied her own mascara a few days ago. And when I got the camera out she was all melodramatic. These pics, taken just moments apart just crack me up.

We visited the local fall festival a few weekends ago and we enjoyed a funnel cake! (now, before you're asking how this is considered appropriate for our non-processed foods... well, two things 1. we get to have treats every now and then and 2. it was homemade and even if the ingredients are practically all sugar-- there weren't additives, chemicals, food coloring etc.)

Belle made a hedgehog at the library!

We went to the zoo last Monday-- it was officially the beginning of sweatshirt season!! 

This girl needs a Permit Driver sign on this cart! Thankfully the other patrons just thought she was cute. In other news, my Achilles tendons were practically bleeding when we left the store.

I found these two playing the other day... They was so cute!!!! I was told that this was their "little sister" named Amy. (This was all purely imagination. We have no pregnancy news to share.)

Belle cooks me breakfast almost daily. She the cutest little chef, isn't she?

I've been doing some yoga videos these days and Belle likes to join me! She is really good at doing what she sees on the tv! How cute is the toddler downward dog???

Another thing I just happened to find my kids doing... Jackson was reading Belle a "bedtime story". A long one, too. I'm either a great mom for letting them explore and develop a love of textbooks and learning-- or I'm a terrible mother for introducing them to the world of substance abuse at this incredibly young age. Time will tell, I suppose...

Today, Chacey (and her little sister!) came over to play for several hours! The kids were SO excited. Chacey giggled like a little school girl when she walked into Jackson's room. And as I was taking the picture, Jackson said "I love you, Chacey. I'm going to give you lots of kisses!" (no kisses were exchanged!). It's hard to believe that these guys have been playing together since they were newly one year olds!! 

That concludes the photos I've taken.... I could take pics of all the food I've been cooking but I've vowed to stay away from documenting every meal. You're welcome!! Happy Monday everyone!

The Start of Soccer Season

Apparently, the start of football season is also the start of soccer season. Who knew? I "played" soccer for one season in early childhood. I do have two distinct memories from the experience-- crying because it hurt my toe to kick the ball and oranges at halftime (skipping down the field, interlocking arms with a friend required mid-game refueling).

Jackson started soccer practice last week. In one practice, he'd already surpassed my soccer experience. How cute is this kid?

Jackson had a "game" on Saturday morning-- which is basically a 3x3 scrimmage. He got lots of ball time, kicked several goals, and had tons of fun. 

Here's a video I took to share with Derek because he was at drill. I considered cropping it down to highlight Jackson's shining moments (Jackson makes 3 shots!), but then you'd miss out on the whole experience of what it's like to really watch 4 year old soccer-- wrestling with the soccer net, lots of hand-touching, tackling. If you notice that the red team only has two kids, it's because the third wouldn't leave her mother's lap on the sideline. This is 4 year old soccer.

Last Monday, we were melting in 100 degree temps, but the temps dropped like crazy by the time tonight's practice started... We were shivering in our sweatshirts on the sidelines!

They played a silly game at practice tonight where they dribbled the ball until the coach called out a body part that they were to put on the ball. You can see that most of the other children participated, but Jackson replied, "I'm not interested!" 

One quick mention about the coaches. Take a quick peek at the next picture to see if you can find Coach and then the assistant "dad" coach.

We have a team of foreign gentlemen coaching our little teams. (Maybe they were afraid to have parent coaches with less than stellar soccer experience, such as myself?!) I noticed the accent during the game on Saturday, but it wasn't until one made a rugby reference was I convinced he wasn't American. After the game, I heard him tell another parent that they are on some sort of exchange program to coach competitive soccer here in the states. I assumed they were all British, but one guy said he was Welsh... and that gave me something to google later on that day. The poor guys probably didn't know that teaching 3 and 4 year old boys (girls, too) who watch too much American football was part of the deal. But really, these guys do an great job and are exceptionally patient! And quite proper, too. 

Maybe soccer this year can serve as a dating service for my sisters? Now THAT is an idea that gets me excited about this sport. 

The Dog Duo

A day does not go by in this house when a child of mine (or both) doesn't pretend to be a dog. It happens every. single. day. First is was mostly Jackson, but Belle has really picked up on this gig lately.

• They are typically Molly and Malcom (named for my parent's and brother's dogs, respectively) though Jackson will sometime be a Dalmatian. 
• While in dog-mode, it is imperative that I communicate with them using their dog names lest I be barked at and corrected.
• The kids dogs play fetch with each other. 
• The last time we visited my parent's house, Belle put on the leash that's outside by the tree and crawled around barking like a dog. I didn't take a picture as I could only imagine what the internet would say about me tying my child up to a tree. 

• On multiple occasions, I have had to remind my kids that they are pretend dogs and that it's not okay to lick me. Gross!!
• Lately, Belle is "Molly" more often than Belle. Tonight, she could be found crawling around with a dog bone (play french fry) in her mouth. She requests that I refer to her food as dog food, regardless of what I've cooked. She's become so clever as to not participate in clean-up, because she's a dog.
• I may have capitalized on Belle's instance on being a dog to explain that Molly doesn't wear a diaper. It hasn't seemed to make much difference, but if wanting to be like a dog, instead of just a big girl, is the motivation for potty training... I'm on board!
• Sometimes Jackson will lick the milk from his leftover cereal as a dog would drink water from a dish. 

There are many people (my brother included) who treat their dogs as little human babies. Me, on the other hand, continually have to treat my human babies as little dogs!! At least while they're dogs, they aren't whining to watch TV, so it's not so bad. And no one's asking to get a puppy... because we've already got two!

Quick Weekend Recap

Our weekend consisted of a Royals game on Friday night:

A Saturday morning purge of all heavily processed foods (mainly everything that consists of five or more ingredients and/or having ingredients I can't pronounce):

(These bags are the pantry items. There was an equal amount of refrigerated/freezer items.)

And a Saturday afternoon of shopping for produce at the farmer's market and restocking our pantry with items from Whole Foods:

We had nursery on Sunday morning and I got to snuggle with one of my favorite little guys from the moment he was dropped off until the moment his mama came back. I love baby snuggles! Sunday afternoon, we watched the Chiefs dominate over the Jacksonville Jaguars (which was a GREAT way to start the NFL season!)! We walked to church for the evening service and finished the weekend with our newest tradition of family movie night in the basement. 

Also, over the weekend, we admitted my MacBook into the Genius Bar hospital for a few days. After getting a new trackpad installed, my computer is back up and running like brand new-- and I don't feel like chucking it across the room. :)

Our weekend was the perfect mix of being productive, spending quality time together, and relaxing! How was your weekend??

Reasons to smile

My day started with some unexpected crummy news and I found myself in a bit of a funk for the rest of the day. Yet at the same time, I felt an overwhelming joy and appreciation for my family. There were so many little things that made me smile and I am just so thankful for God's provision of family in my life!

I picked up Jackson from pre-school to hear him saying, "I found the girl I'm going to marry. Her name is Rebecca." Last week, he came home and told me the same thing When I asked her name, he said, "Uhm.. I don't know." So when I asked him if it was the same girl he replied, "No, I don't want to marry her because she's an adult and she'll be really old by the time I grow up. She'll probably be dead.
I need to marry a kid." How could I not chuckle?

And Belle continually calls the American flag, Captain America. It cracks me up every time we drive by a car dealership with a bazillion "captain americas". She also participated in doing push-ups with Derek tonight and it was impossible not to laugh.

Oh! And football season started and I was able to remind my family (particularly my brother-in-law) how I was the fantasy football champ last year and of course that made me smile.

But even more important is the power of scripture over my mood!

Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine...

Life doesn't always offer situations to be happy about, but it's up to each of us to chose joy. I am so blessed!! I hope you're able to find joy in your day and I'd love to hear about it! :)