Memory Nuggets

More nuggets of goodness that I want to remember:

*Funny quotes from this week:

'Daddy, you not tickle mommy's butt anymore, Daddy!'

On one episode of Dora, King Bobo is silly and gets things all messed up.  So to stop Swiper, instead of saying, 'Swiper, no swiping!' he says, 'Swoopy, no doopy!' and a few other silly things.  So we started asking C, 'How do you stop Swiper?  Do you say, swoopy no soupy?  Or loopy no boopy?' and she would belly laugh and close her eyes and double over.  Precious.  This week she will look at us and say, 'How do you stop Swiper?  Swoopy no doopy!  Noooo!' and die laughing. Double precious.

'I almost a-got!'

'I like a-sketti!

*C has 'me' and 'my' mixed up right now.  For instance, 'You need to help my up!'

*She has started to use good manners on here own, for better or for worse.  This week it has transitioned from, 'I have some ice cream, please?' like we have been working on to, 'I have some ice cream, please?  I just really, really want some ice cream, please Mommy!' complete with pouty face, slumped shoulders, and sweet tone.

*When you ask her if she wants to do something, she'll say, 'Ok!' in a really high pitched voice.  One of my favorite things she does right now.

*I had an apple for breakfast one morning this week and she watched me take a bite out of it.  Then she asked for it.  Before I knew it, half of the apple was gone.  So this week her favorite thing to do is eat an apple all by herself.

*She has been peeing in the potty every night before bath/bed and in the mornings when she wakes up.  She is by no means potty trained, but she is currently showing interest in it.  We shall see.

*Jason was putting C to bed one night and for some reason they started talking about baby stars and mommy stars and daddy stars.  So now before she goes to bed, she asks to for us to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, but we have to insert baby, mommy, and daddy star into the song.

*Wednesday is Sharing Day at C's school.  It started as a way to teach the kids how to stand up in front of people and talk.  So they would let them find something around the room or from outside and then they have to stand up and say, 'My name is Caroline and I have such and such for Sharing Day.'  I didn't know it was an actual thing and according to her teachers it was not until two or three kids started taking it seriously and bringing stuff from home.  Well, this past Wednesday was C's first official sharing day.  She told Mrs. Val she was going to bring in a Bubble Guppies movie (shocking) and Mrs. Val relayed that information to me.  When we got home there was a package in the mail from Jason's mom.  When we opened it it had two Bubble Guppies books in it and a pair of PJs.  C got so excited and I told her she could take her books for Sharing Day and she got excited all over again.  So the next morning she was telling Jason about it.  He told her how cool that was and let her know that she was going to have to share the books with others and all of her friends would get to see how awesome the books were.  She looked right at home and said, 'I leave my books at home.  I taking Bubble Guppies movie!'  She said BUMP THAT!  I am not sharing my brand new books.  Maybe she'll be ok by next Wednesday, or the next!

*She must be going through a growth spurt because for the past two weeks, she has asked to be put to bed.  She'll ask for Bobo and Daci and we'll put her in the bed and not hear another word.  Yesterday she didn't take a nap and when I got home about 5:15 she told me she wanted to get in the bed and see Bobo and Daci.  I didn't even shut her door because she'll just sit in there sometimes (we only allow her to have Bobo and Daci in the bed, so sometimes she'll go sit for a few minutes to get her fix).  I walked back in 5 minutes later and she was out and slept until 7.  I will never not allow my child to go to sleep when they ask for it!

*We have very recently started to get uncoaxed 'I love you's'!  I say I love her every night before she goes to bed and now she will say, 'I love you, Mommy!'  There is nothing better in this world.  The other morning I woke up and walked into the living room and she ran up and flung her arms around my legs and said, 'There you are!  I love you, Mommy!' and then she ran away as quickly as she got there.

*Every once in a while she will get a treat after dinner.  It may be ice cream or something sweet.  Recently, Jason gave her some Jello chocolate pudding (sugar free and fat free).  She LOVES it.  She says that there is ice cream in her pudding!  If she believes it is that good and it is not bad for her at all, I'll take it!

The Trunk

When we were growing up, my uncle Oie would come to town and visit us and we LOVED Oie.  I still love Oie!  I vividly remember two things about Oie and my child hood - the extremely large phone (I'm talking like 4 feet long) he used to get chicks and him telling us he would throw us in the trunk if we didn't stop whining.  I don't remember being afraid of him when I said that, but I do remember him telling us and even going outside and taking a look at his trunk.  I'm pretty sure that made us stop whining, or at least go to another room to do it!

Today, I picked C up from school - she whined most of the way home.  We got home and got inside the house - she was on the floor crying within a few seconds.  We went over to Greg + Michelle's with my mom, Anna and Jack - outside she was throwing a fit and whining because she was afraid to go down the hill by herself.  We went to dinner - she was whining to get down.  

The text I sent to my uncle Oie today: I now understand the trunk.  

There is no doubt that Caroline is a strong willed, knows what she wants, little sassy pants.  I can handle all of that.  But the incessant whining and the repeatedly whined statements over and over again - it drives me INSANE!  Fridays are the worst because she has gone all week without a lot of napping and she is so tired she doesn't even know what is going on.  Even though I can understand the why behind what she is doing, it doesn't make it any easier to endure.  So, yes, tonight - I understand the trunk.

Through all of those moments of intense frustration and exhaustion with the whining, they are always followed by her belly laughs as she runs around with Anna and Jack, or her trying not to break a smile when I ask her to make a silly face, or her falling asleep on my chest after rocking for just a few minutes.  There is always something surrounding those moments that make me take a deep breath and realize how incredibly much I love that little girl.  Watching her Maggie Simpson her daci (pacifier) tonight, I was thinking about how grateful I am that I have a little girl that is so smart and healthy and learning new things every day.  There are a lot of people in this world that wish they could say that.  I have the joy and privilege of being the mama to an amazing little girl, but along with that comes the responsibility of raising her in to the person I hope she will be, and that is not always fun.  That means saying no, despite the fact that it will incite a riot.  That means letting her cry and fuss as she tries to put on her sunglasses because eventually she'll get it figured out and she'll be so proud of herself.  

So, yes, I understand the trunk and wanting to throw a fit throwing, fussing, whining little kid into it. But the good always outweighs the bad and at the end of the day, I am very lucky.  I am a mama.

Coach Smith!

When I met Jason, he was an assistant football coach in Jacksonville.  We did the back and forth thing for a year and then I packed up my apartment in Winston and headed east.  After a year, I brought him back up here with me.  He got a job at North Forsyth and is in his 4th year there.  He has been an assistant football coach there, as well as a track coach and JV basketball coach.  Throughout those four years, he has loved being where he was, but he has always had the goal of becoming a head football coach.  He has applied and interviewed at several schools, but it just hasn't worked out.  We always knew (though it is not always easy at the time) that there was something great for him, but it wasn't time just yet.

Well, he has reached his time.  One Tuesday we were meeting Greg and Michelle for some dinner and as we pulled up to Buffalo Wild Wings, Jason received the call - he was asked if he would like to accept the job as the head football coach at North Stokes High School!

Although he has a little bit of a drive, the situation is a great one.  He will be working at a 1A school (which is great for his first head job) and he will be teaching weight lifting and PE all day.  He is currently in the Exceptional Children's program, but got certified to teach PE within the past year or two and has been trying to get a PE job along with a head coaching job (which is not an easy thing to do).  He has been up there a few times to meet the kids and after Spring Break he will head up there a couple of times a week to run work outs.

He feels like it is a great administration to work for and that he will be very supported.  He has gotten help with everything he has needed so far.

He will finish out the year at North Forsyth and then start immediately with North Stokes.

I could not be more proud of my love.  He has worked so hard to get to this point and I am so glad he has this opportunity to teach kids everything he knows and loves about the game of football.

Way to go, Coach Smith!

Maximus!

A few weeks ago, we had a Friday off of school for a 'snow day' (I use that term very loosely).  Greg and Michelle were going to go to Wilmington and since Jason was out of town, Caroline and I decided to jump in the car with them.

While we were there, Mom said something about Tucker (G+M's puppy) being a great dog and that if she could get a dog just like him she wouldn't be opposed to getting another dog.  Well on the ride home, that sparked some conversation about Mom and Deddy and dogs, so I, of course, whipped out my phone and checked out Petfinder.com.  While I was looking, I saw a face.  This dog looked like a mini-Riley and I was instantly curious.  I checked out his profile and liked what I saw.  He was an almost one year old mutt that liked people, did well with other dogs, and had a sweet disposition.  I told Greg and Michelle who instantly told me to send his picture to Jason to see what he would say.  I thought for sure he would send something back telling me that I was crazy.  He was totally ok with it and told me that he thought he did look just like Riley.  At this point it had been about 6 months since we put Riley down.  Harley has been great, but could use a little friend!  So that is where the Max journey began!

I emailed the people and for some reason was thinking that we would be able to just bring him home that afternoon.  I am crazy.  The dog adoption process is much more involved than I originally anticipated.  I know they want dogs to go to good homes, but I just about had to give them a DNA sample!

Over the next two weeks, with lots of emails, forms, vet visits for Harley, and phone calls, we got to meet Norman!  They brought him to our house on a Saturday afternoon (the same Saturday I got my van!) and let him meet Harley.  There was some initial figuring out, but everything went pretty well.  We signed some papers, handed over a check, and began our 10 day trial.

Over those 10 days, we had some adjustments to make.  He was pretty scared (who wouldn't be) and cowered in a corner every time that Jason came into a room.  Being a rescue, there is no way to know what happened to him before they found him.  It was pretty easy to see that Norman was not a fan of men.  So we tried different things until we figured out what was working.  There was a point in those 10 days that I called his foster mom to warn her that our house might not be a good place for Norman and that he may need to go back.  He just looked so scared and I hated for him to live like that.

Well, we are now a week past the end of our 10 day trial and Max (we tried Norman, but for some reason Max just felt like a better fit) is an official member of our family.  He has gotten completely comfortable and we get lots of belly rubs and cuddling out of that sweet little boy.  Caroline loves him and talks about Max (she has named him Maxidoo!) and Har-Boo all the time.  He is really warming up to Jason and just last night stood at his feet wagging his tail when he got home!  He has had a play date with Tucker and had SO much fun!  He loves going on walks and does great with that, and every once in a while gets a puppy spurt and runs around with Harley.

Here is our sweet Maxidoo!

Swaggin' Wagon

A couple of years ago, Jason started talking about wanting a truck.  He had a Ford F-150 when he was younger that he traded in for a Honda Accord (being the responsible young man that he was).  I told him that I didn't care what he drove, but that we weren't going to spend another penny on a car payment.  So he told me about a used F-150 that he had found.  We went and looked at it and came home that afternoon with a white truck.

Fast forward two years and now that we had Caroline, the dogs, and more little ones in our future (not immediate), we started talking about vans.  The talking was more about which ones we thought were prettier.  The idea never entered my head that I may have a van.  Jason had his truck for traveling and I had my Tribute that could last through at least one more kid.  Well with a few things in the works, it was looking like we were going to need to switch cars.  He was possibly going to have a longer drive to work and it would make sense for him to drive the Tribute.  That left me with the truck, which I was fine with.  

Then on Friday night, he told me about a van he had found that was used and was in our price range.  He asked me if I wanted to go look at it.  I told him sure, but thought it was more for something to do on a Saturday afternoon.  For this to work he was going to have to trade his truck in, which surely wasn't going to happen!

The next morning we got up, I went to the eye doctor, and when I got home we loaded everyone up in the truck and went to the dealership.

The van that we went for had already been sold.  But good ol' John had another van that he just happened to have to we could check out.  We looked it over and before I knew it we were taking a test drive.  We tweaked nobs and opened and closed everything.  We were fans.

Once we got back, Jason asked me what I thought.  I told him that I liked it, but that we weren't going to pay a penny over what we were already paying.  I still thought that there was no way this man was going to trade his truck in to get me a van.  

Well, the ran the numbers and did their dealing and 3 hours later, we had us a car payment less than the one that we already had.  My sweet, incredible, awesome husband had traded his truck in to get me a van - completely on his own accord!  I never once asked him to do it and pressured him into it.  He did it because he loves me and does what is best for our little family!

And, with no further ado...

My Swaggin' Wagon!

This is just a picture I found online.  Looks just like mine.  This thing is like a space ship.  I never thought I'd want a van.  There are some times that I forget that I am an adult and am married and have a child.  This is a reminder that I certainly am not in college any more!  We traveled this past week for Spring Break and this thing was AWESOME!  We had room for all of us, the two boys, and all of our crap.  I'll take a Swaggin' Wagon and being an adult!

It's a Bubble Guppies Birthday!

Since Caroline has been in love with the Bubble Guppies for quite a while now (and Dora is starting to beat them out), we knew we HAD to have a Bubble Guppies birthday party for her 2nd birthday!  We planned for the party to be at a park (knowing that it was March and it probably wouldn't happen), but it ended up being a great afternoon at our house.  We had lots of family and friends over and the kids were able to play, we had hot dogs for lunch, opened some presents, ate some delicious (and beautiful) cake, and headed for nap time!

Everyone hanging out!

C and her cousins eating some delicious hot dogs!

Opening presents!  Thank you, everyone!

She had plenty of help!

Mommy + Daddy got C a tricycle!

The awesome cake that Daddy whipped up!

Happy Birthday, our sweet girl!

Caroline is '2 Old'!

We have a grown up two-year old sassy pants at our house!!  I have been so busy trying to live in every second of my life that I have totally forgotten about stopping and writing it all down!  I try to get really cute stuff on Facebook so I can get it documented somewhere quickly.

We went to the doctor a few days after her 2nd birthday.  She did SUCH a good job.  She did everything that was asked of her and only cried a little bit after she got her shot, but since the nurse had brought her a Dora and a Bubble Guppies sticker, everything was just fine pretty quickly.

She was 34" tall (72nd percentile) and 28 pounds (67th percentile).  She is growing fantastically and the doctor thinks that she will be somewhere around 5'7" when she grows up based on her numbers now.  That sounds about right!

Caroline is the most awesome little kid.  I know she is mine and I am supposed to say that, but she makes me laugh every day with the things that she says and she is so smart - too smart for her own good sometimes.  She is starting to press buttons and become a full steam ahead two year old, but the good very much out weighs the bad and I wouldn't change a second of it.

Her are some things I want to remember about my little two year old:

The girl still gets hiccups every single time she laughs, and has since the day she was born.

Her laugh is amazing and I wish I could bottle it up and hold onto it forever.

She is such a great eater.  She is not very picky, but when there is something she doesn't want she will stick her tongue out and say, 'Don't want that!'

She still is a champion sleeper.  She is in bed around 8 every night and we usually get her up around 7:15 on school days.  She has been known to sleep in until 9 on weekends.  She still asks to go to bed every now and then, which we certainly don't turn down.  At home she takes between a 2 and 4 hour nap in the afternoons.  Daycare naps, not so much.  We get really excited about an hour.  Girl is too busy singing and talking to her friends to waste time on some nap!

She knows how to go to the potty, but is very uninterested.  That is ok with me.  I still ask her every once in a while, but I'm going to wait until she is ready.  No need to stir up disaster by pushing her.

Her vocabulary is out of control.  There is very little that she can't say and say correctly.  She knows exactly what she wants all the time and is not afraid to share it with you.

Her eyes are still as blue as they can be.  They are beautiful and I hope she keeps those bad boys forever.

She is a two year old and throws fits.  She will throw herself on the ground, cry, and she even gets an Elvis leg where she will stand on one leg and just shake the mess out of the other leg.  I wish I knew where she got that from!  She is quite familiar with the time out chair and I feel like she will be spending more time in the future!

She loves to dance, but her dancing (for the most part) is running around in a circle.  We'll have to work on that!

She is starting to sing.  It is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.  She will sing Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, Sweet Caroline (!), Be Home!, and several other awesome renditions of stuff you may know!

Some gems that I posted on Facebook:

Looking at the neighbors yard decorations that change colors.
Caroline: 'Orange!'
Me: 'That's right, that is orange!'
Caroline: 'Good job, Mommy!'


Caroline: (Pointing to the top of my head.) 'Head. Mommy's head. Big head, mommy.'


Apparently they are teaching Caroline Spanish at school.

Me: (After reading a few pages of her new Dora book and being excited that they were counting in Spanish) 'Four in Spanish is cuatro. Can you say cuatro?'
C: 'Cuatro. Cinco.'

Well played, little one, well played.


Any time we pass a truck.
C: 'That's Daddy's truck. Naawww! Not Daddy's truck. Daddy's truck white. Silly truck.'


Me: 'Caroline, how old will you be tomorrow?'
C: (holding up both pointer fingers) 'Carowine 2 old!' 


C: 'Mommy, I running away!' (Where she got that, I have no idea.)
Me: (fake crying) 'Don't go. I'd miss you too much!'
C: (grabbing my face with her hands) 'Mommy, look at me. Don't worry. I stay with you.'

Bless her heart.


Me: 'Hey, Caroline, I need you to stop playing and eat your breakfast. We need to go.'
C: 'My name is Duwine. Jack Jack calls me Duwine.'
Me: 'Well, alright, Duwine. We need to go!'

She does love her presents (cousins)!


Playing with stickers this morning.

C: 'I want the mommy snunk and the daddy snunk.'

If she makes it into kindergarten calling them that, I may tell her then that they are skunks.


C: (waking up from her nap) 'My Daddy will be home in just a minute.'
Me: 'That's right. And once Daddy gets home Mommy is going to go to work and you and Daddy can hang out.'
C: 'Dat be cool.'

Our Hot Mess