"See You"

When Presley was little I would play peek-a-boo with her...just like every mother. ;-) I would always say, "peek-a-boo I see you." A few months ago she started instigating a friendly game of "peek-a-boo" with me on her own. At first she would just hide behind her hands, pull them down, and then say, "see you." Now she hides behind anything and everything around her...a banister, a door, a towel, a tree, a bush, etc. You name it and she's behind it. She would play the "see you" game with me all day if she could...and she does! :-)

A Touch of OCD and a Clean Closet ;-)

Yesterday, I told Joey that for my Christmas gift this year I wanted someone to come in and clean all of the blinds, baseboards, and fans in the house. He wasn't too keen on the idea, but 20 minutes later I found him in our master bathroom cleaning and dusting the light fixtures! I had NO idea what this little cleaning extravaganza was going to lead to, but I should have known that it it was going to be unbelievable. Once he starts something he can't stop...a little aggravating at times, but also great at times too. He always puts 110% into everything he does...no matter what it is. He always helps me out. There are a few things that he "doesn't do"... the kitchen and the bathroom toilets. The only reason I allow him to get away with actually saying "I don't do the kitchen and I don't do the bathroom" is because he does so much more...laundry, ironing, outside work, and vacuuming. He really is a rare find. He was very involved in our wedding and helped pick out the flowers, food, bridesmaid dresses, and decorations. He is pretty much involved in every aspect of our lives. Yesterday afternoon he spent 8 hours cleaning our bedroom, bathroom, and closet. He dusted anything and everything in sight...from the light fixtures to the blinds. He polished the furniture, cleaned out and wiped down the closet, drawers, and cabinets. He cleaned out the closet, did the laundry, re-ironed everything, and then re-organized it. I have really never seen anything like it before. It was like watching my mom work through my husband...lol. My mom used to always tease that her sister, my Aunt Carolyn, put her cleaning to shame. I have to say, my husband put my "spring cleaning" to shame! He still didn't touch the toilet, but that is FINE by me ;-) He started cleaning at 10 am and took two breaks...lunch and dinner. After dinner, he started working his way into the living room by dusting everything on the bookshelf and fireplace mantel. I finally had to tell him to stop! He finally sat down at 9:00 to watch a little t.v. :-) As I got into bed (I love clean sheets!) I heard him rustling around in the closet. I walked in to find him spacing out the hangers...really? I think we might have a touch of OCD, but that's ok.....I still love him. ;-) This morning he said, "I just want to take a picture of our closet" so that's what I did! :-)

I tried helping out by re-organizing my clothes and shoes while Presley napped, but when I came back in he had re-organized my shoes to look like this....hmmmm.

Our wonderful hangers so nicely and evenly spaced ;-)

Ducky!

I took Presley to the "duck park" in Flower Mound last Friday and she loved it! Joey and I have taken her there a few times before to feed the ducks, but the ducks stayed in the water and Presley wasn't that interested in them...she was more interested in the playground. However, this time there weren't many people there so all of the ducks were out and about running around and she was thrilled! She kept pointing to them saying, "ducky, ducky." I brought my camera, but I found it difficult to take pictures while watching a fearless toddler run circles around me near the water so a rubber ducky on the ground is the only "ducky" picture I got. :) For the past couple of weeks Presley has been picking up on new words daily...ducky is a word she uses often. She has two little ducks that she plays with in the bathtub that she absolutely loves! She also has a book called Ten Little Ducks. She brings me this book to read ALL.OF.THE.TIME and she constantly pushes the one little duck that squeaks. I have never seen a child that adores animals as much as her. She kisses on all of her stuffed animals and she is constantly giving kisses to Goose...and the new puppy! Sweet girl takes after her daddy...lol. ;-)

What a Lover!

What a lover this puppy is. He loves to just sit in our laps and sleep. You can literally pick him up and walk around the house and he will stay asleep in your arms. I guess he didn't have much human interaction growing up in a shelter??? He just loves to be around us and he is not content unless he is in our laps! Sitting next to us is not an option...he would much rather be cuddle up on us. There isn't much I don't love about this puppy...well, except the barking! He can be a barker and we are trying to "nip that in the bud" now! He is a hound dog so we wont be able to completely train him to not bark, but we can at least have it under control a bit as he gets older. He is a sweet little guy and he loves Presley. Although, her first love is still her "Goosey Goosey Goo" ;-)

A Memorable Tree

This little guy is our one lonely Christmas decoration of the year :-( and the only reason he is out is because he was never put away last year. I just tucked him away in the book case he sits upon. I have had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year and I am not sure why. I don’t know if it is because of everything that we have been doing with the Brain Tumor Society or because I have begun working on my mom’s scrapbook, but whatever the reason, ‘tis not the season to be jolly for me! Last year, I was all about Christmas…I created scrapbooks, had our house decorated, tree up, Christmas CDs made and playing throughout the house by November 1^st. I have just been struggling a lot lately. Last night I thought to myself, “what is this non-christmasy funk that I am in”? This morning, I was blog hopping and trying to catch up on everyone’s newly updated blogs and came across my little sister’s best friend's blog. Kristin's mom was my mom’s best friend for several years and Sara & Kristin were inseparable growing up. They were pretty much best friends right out of the womb. Kristin has had some challenging times this past year, but through it all she has forged on in complete trust and faith in our Lord Jesus. What a great testimony she is. I popped on her blog real quick, she is a stay-at-home-mom to 5 kiddos and a wonderful photographer. I love to take a peek at her pictures because she captures such sweet moments and there is so much to be said in just one picture…always a story behind each photo. Well, as I took a look at her blog, I read through one post titled...‘tis the season to make some memories. I took one look at the Christmas tree they decorated this year and fell to pieces. It was truly such a blessing to see the captured moments of her heart lining the very tree that would stand before them for the next month. What a great reminder to what the Christmas season is all about...family memories and the birth of Jesus! If I could, I would plaster a picture of her tree on every Christmas website and blog. ;-) Take a look at her beautiful heartfelt tree by clicking HERE. hope she doesn’t mind me sharing this! :-)

I Can Teach My Child

I love "teachery" blogs ;-) I love the blog confessions of a home schooler and I love this blog I came across just a few days ago. The author is a former first grade teacher turned stay-at-home mom. She is very creative and has a masters in early childhood education. The blog has some great ideas and age-appropriate activities for little ones Presley's age. Sometimes I find that the things that keep Presley busy are not all of the toys surrounding her, but all of the other "stuff" that is just laying around the house....like pipe cleaners! Thanks to Sara, pipe cleaners have become a life savor and keep Presley busy for hours on end...especially on a 2 hour plane ride! If I had the motivation and time I would love to have a blog like this! It is impossible for me to be a mom without integrating my love for teaching into everything I do daily...kind of annoying! I get bored sitting around at home and with the holidays fast approaching, all of our normal weekly activities are coming to a close. This website keeps my mind fresh and gives me great ideas to keep me busy...and Presley! Ha! :-)

The other kiddy blogs I love are...
We Teach
Muffin Tin Mondays
Another Lunch Blog
Cooking with My Kids

A Sweet Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving was extra sweet and special because it was also Joey's birthday...I'll keep it to myself how old he is. ;-/ We spent the afternoon over at Joey's uncle's house. The food was delicious and Presley loved every bit of it...well, except the pea salad. ;-) She did very well and actually let people hold her...even with me in the room!! This was a first for her. I think she is beginning to remember familiar faces because when we asked her where her Nanna was she pointed to her with her little finger. Presley had lots of sweets on Thanksgiving and she absolutely LOVED her daddy's birthday cookie cake. ;-) On Friday, she refused to eat anything I put in front of her! She kept pushing my hand away while saying, "cookay, cookay" at the same time. eek!!! I thought I ruined her for good. Ha! However, by dinner time she was back to normal :-) probably because we had her favorite...Mexican food! A girl after my own heart! Here are a few candid pictures from our day at Uncle Bills.

Presley loved this big piece of paper and carried it around everywhere

Nana Burda and Presley Girl

Presley and Great Grandma Barb
Helping daddy blow out his birthday candles
Presley and Popo. There's a story behind this picture....

After Nana and I told Presley "no more cookie cake" she ended up over on her Popo's lap contently eating her Puffs. After about 10 minutes or so Presley slowly pulled the cookie cake towards her. A few minutes later while Popo was showing her the birthday candles she was inching her little hand towards the cake. WHILE looking at her Popo and listening intently to his explanation of where candles come from (haha) she was slowly eating away at the cake. Nana and I could not believe our eyes...well, Nana couldn't. I have seen her do this to her dad before. Although, he caught on real quick. We sat watching the little manipulator eat away at the cake until Joey looked at me and said, "did you just see that chunk of cookie she just ate? You need to take that away from her." I explained to him what was going on...he was not amused. I gave Presley a look and she gave one right back to me as if she knew EXACTLY what she had done...hmmmm. Hard times ahead for this mama. *sigh*