Spring has sprung!

It took some blood, sweat and tears, but we were able to get a handle on the leaves in the backyard! WOW! 120 oak trees can sure shed some foliage!! We have all loved the results, though! We have white iris flowers blooming everywhere and it is a great place to enjoy our little ones! Reed is a happy guy in the swing! Our little monkey loves to...climb...slide...REPEAT!

Edee is such a helper these days. She likes to do so many things by herself. She has just about mastered potty training. HOORAY! She is very independent and doesn't appreciate the constant reminders from Mommy. She would much rather take care of her business on her own! (I'll tell a funny story about that in my garage sale post!) Her teacher, Miss Danielle, even told me that Edee will disappear to the bathroom on her own. :-) She had a couple of great Saturdays of training, so her reward was getting to help make a pizza and have a movie campout! That is where we put blankets on the floor of the living room and watch a movie. Nothing thrills this child more, that is except for black olives! She must be kin to her Aunt Tee!

Edee's teacher at The Little Gym emailed this picture to me. It is a little blurry, but I love it anyway! She is such a big girl!

Reed is battling ear infections, so we'll be back at the doctor to discuss tubes soon. I'm hoping that will help my little man sleep better, which in turn will help Mommy and Daddy sleep better. Elkee excused herself to a chair in the backyard one night recently. She had enough of the crying, and decided she would rather sleep outdoors. If you know Elkee, that was a HUGE sacrifice for a dog that only sleeps on the bed or a couch! Edee is the only one who doesn't seem to be bothered, thank goodness!

Growing so fast!

We had so much fun at Estella's 3rd birthday party! Edee and Estella were the only "little girls," but you would have never known it by how big they acted during the carriage ride! It was precious! The girls were able to take a nice, long trip through the neighborhood! The daddies and Jude took a "men only" ride when the girls returned. So silly!
Reed is in to EVERYTHING! He pulls up and thinks he is such a big boy! He loves to pull the laundry off the couch as I fold it! He crawls over to the playroom where he can drag out all the toys, and he is happiest if he is swinging, banging or biting them! He is all BOY!
This is Edee's bouncy ball, but he snuck away with it while she was napping. The ribbon in his hand is attached to a balloon that also belongs to Edee. He is (was) fascinated with it! It had to be thrown away while the children were sleeping, but G-ma got her money's worth out of that Valentine's balloon! They both would have cried if they actually saw it going away! :-)
I love every moment of watching these two learn and grow together. They were playing in Edee's room today and I heard her squeal. I ran back there to check, and she was laying across her pink chair with her bare feet dangling off the edge. Reed kept pulling up on the ottoman so he could squeeze her toes! It was a precious game that I watched them play from the doorway, until I was spotted! This week has been CRAZY, but the little moments of a lazy Saturday are what shape our lives!

Snow Days!

We have been iced in for the last two days. Unfortunately, we didn't get enough snow to build a snowman. Besides, it is entirely TOO cold to go outside~! The temps are 18 degrees and expected to be even lower tonight! Thankfully, we stocked up on food this weekend! We have been cooking and playing, while enjoying some lazy days in front of the fireplace!

Edee loves school, so she has spent time reading books and practicing her letter sounds. Reed has been busy pulling up on everything! I lowered his mattress on Sunday, and we now find him standing up grinning when we go to get him out of bed! He is so proud of himself!

Stay warm out there!

Preschool Princess Parade

Edee's class played dress up one day this week and the director snapped this photo while they were on parade. Before we received this picture, Edee told us over dinner all about her fun morning. She told us who everyone dressed up to be, and she was Cinderalla, of course! Her school has moved into a larger facility and it is awesome! They have a "can-do" room with trains, Lego tables, and other building and play stations. While studying the letter "L," they had their first visit to the new library for storytime with a real librarian! Last week, we had "Muffins with Mom" to kick off the letter "M." It was wonderful to visit with the other mom's and kids before starting a busy day. Monday was their first trip to the Music room and Edee had a ball playing the cymbals! Today was all about riding tricycles in the courtyard. I love hearing about her day and all the things she has experienced!

Reed is NINE months!!

Mr. Reed, as he is destined to be known his entire life, was nine months old on Sunday. I have been a bit melancholy about not having a baby around much longer, so I had a few impromtu photo shoots throughout the day. He was more cooperative in some poses than others. What can I say, he likes to be naked and seemed to be happiest with his blue blanket alone! Dr. Moses said he was "perfect" at his check-up today, and Edee was the most wonderful, concerned big sister during our visit! I don't dread taking them places by myself quite as much these days! Here are his stats: Height: 72 cm (I think that's like 28 in), Weight: 17.4 pounds, Head: 46 cm. Summed up by the doc...He's tall and lean with a bigger head. (He's thinking important thoughts!)
To my precious baby boy,
You are a very determined little guy! You know what you want and you are extremely vocal if you do not get it quickly! This picture pretty much sums up one of those moments! You were very hungry and not in the mood for such foolishness!

Your feet are scrumptious! You and I both know it, so I guess that is why I tolerate the fact that you will not keep ANYTHING on those little cuties!

You are all about feeding yourself! You still love puffs and cheerios, but you also now enjoy a good-old saltine cracker! You have also fed yourself tiny bits of ham, chicken, avacado and banana. You like most of the baby food you are given, but you absolutely HATE peaches! You like the baby food meat, which is a little odd! :-) Your iron levels were good at your check-up, so I guess we can attribute that to your carniverous diet!

You just started turning into me and grabbing hold of my clothes when I take you to school. You do not want me to leave, and even though it is a little heart-breaking for me, I know it is just a part of growing up and learning about your world. You and your sister interact with each other more and more each day. Even though you drive her crazy by playing with her toys, I can already see an amazing bond forming between you! Whether there is crying, laughing, screaming or squeeling...I love every little moment of being your Mommy!

A little getaway!

No! Not for Eric and I, but we are looking forward to planning one this summer! ;-) We all loaded up and headed to the Hill Country for a change of scenery. We were also looking forward to meeting a very special young lady, Miss Hadley Anne!

Poppy Wally and GiGi let us camp out at their place for the weekend, and it didn't take Edee long to figure out that she could watch "Toy Story," and stare at herself in the mirror in Poppy Wally's office!
Reed thought that was a great idea so he slithered over and found a handsome young man to admire, also! (I use the term "slither" because he is still our little army crawler! I dont' think he has much motivation to crawl on his hands and knees because he is just so darn fast!!)

Saturday morning, these two played in Edee's bed for over an hour! Despite the look on Edee's face here, they really were having fun!

We were able to spend the day with our wonderful friends, the Flynns! Miss Hadley is a precious little princess! The daddies kept the kids while I went with Katy to have her hair done. We were very proud when we returned home to find everyone safe and sound, AND a delicious meal waiting on us! It was cold and rainy, so the chili was perfect!

Sunday was another rainy and cold day, so we took it easy indoors. Eric and Brad worked on a few projects in the garage while Katy and I hung out with the babes.

WOW! Things have certainly changed in the last few years! It seems like yesterday that the four of us were lounging poolside in Puerta Vallarta, wandering around the square in Taos, tailgating at the Supercross, or riding our bikes home from the Bull in Red River! Now, it's babies, babies, babies! :-) We're looking forward to sharing more memories with the expanding Flynn family!

A Post with No Pictures...

...is better than no post at all, right??

Well, that is what we are getting today! I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and put things on my blog. Could it be two small children and a job? Throw in the holidays, and this is what you get!

Edee is as entertaining as ever! She LOVES her new school! It is the same school, just in a new(er) building. She knows all the letters and the sounds they make. It is such fun to have a conversation with her and watch her little mind work! She's a little OCD (definitely does NOT get that from me), and notices right away if something is different or if there is a change in the routine. Christmas was so magical for her and she was sad when she woke up from her nap to find that the tree had disappeared. She looked down the hall and sadly commented, "Our tree is gone." We took her to ride the train in the Stockyards that afternoon so she had something to focus on. We had a blast! She was obsessed with the Polar Express movie and wanted to watch it OVER and OVER! We weren't sure what we were going to replace it with now that Christmas has passed, but we recorded Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on Saturday morning. BINGO! We have a winner! One more funny thing: Eric is usually the one to take her to Little Gym every week. We were watching gymnastics yesterday on TV and when Nastia Lukin (sp?) was performing on the balance beam, Edee asked, "Where's her Daddy?" I guess she thinks you shouldn't be on the beam unless your Daddy is holding your hand! OH! I love her!!!

Reed is my little charmer! He is demanding and knows what he wants, but he is still in love with his Mommy! It can be a challenge at times, but I can't imagine it any other way. He is starting to sleep better at night, which is nice but is also a little sad for me. I love cuddling with him and wrapping my arms around him. He is growing SO fast and I guess I get melancholy thinking about not having a baby around anymore. He is the BEST army crawler I have ever seen and can get just about anywhere he wants in record speed! He is eating more and more solids and prefers things that he can feed himself. He can now sit in the bathtub and splash with his sister. They both really seem to love that! He says, "Da-Da-Da" all the time and he even said "Ma-Ma" once over the holidays as I walked around the corner. I swear it is true and Eric was even there to witness it!

I am a blessed "Mommee" who is cherishing every moment with my precious little ones! Happy 2011!!