Here is sweet baby Jackson's cooing if you're interested...
And big sissy hanging out w/ her little brother...
2 weeks ago
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Day at the fair
Last week Kip took a day off work and we headed up to the State Fair of Texas, a first for all of us! A friend of the family lent us their day passes so we saved the admission fee which was a big ($30!!) help.
Kate loved the animals on show and the petting zoo, she kept yelling "Cow!" the whole way there... (think Chick-fil-A commercial!)
She rode her first 'big girl' ride, she picked it out because she thought the little airplanes looked like Rocket from the Little Einsteins cartoon. She wasn't too sure of it and while she didn't seem too thrilled she also never cried. Keep in mind this was also her usual naptime so the simple fact that she didn't ever meltdown is a miracle!
Mom also rode 2 rides in a vain attempt to recapture my youth - I really enjoyed them but felt a little more wobbly afterwards than I remembered! The whole time I was on this one, Kip never looked up once at me! (He HATES rides.) He claims it was because Kate was crying... but I think he just hated to watch the mother of his children flailing above the fairgrounds. :)
Any trip to the state fair wouldn't be complete without some yummy fair food! Here is Kate and Daddy doing their best to take on a turkey leg
Jackson slept in the stroller the whole afternoon, and Kate was awesome and told us everytime she needed to potty and we were accident free! All in all, it was a wonderful day - cool weather, yummy food, excellent company!
Kate loved the animals on show and the petting zoo, she kept yelling "Cow!" the whole way there... (think Chick-fil-A commercial!)
She rode her first 'big girl' ride, she picked it out because she thought the little airplanes looked like Rocket from the Little Einsteins cartoon. She wasn't too sure of it and while she didn't seem too thrilled she also never cried. Keep in mind this was also her usual naptime so the simple fact that she didn't ever meltdown is a miracle!
Mom also rode 2 rides in a vain attempt to recapture my youth - I really enjoyed them but felt a little more wobbly afterwards than I remembered! The whole time I was on this one, Kip never looked up once at me! (He HATES rides.) He claims it was because Kate was crying... but I think he just hated to watch the mother of his children flailing above the fairgrounds. :)
Any trip to the state fair wouldn't be complete without some yummy fair food! Here is Kate and Daddy doing their best to take on a turkey leg
Jackson slept in the stroller the whole afternoon, and Kate was awesome and told us everytime she needed to potty and we were accident free! All in all, it was a wonderful day - cool weather, yummy food, excellent company!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
October update
Here at the Atwell abode we believe in child labor as an excellent way to get things done - here is Kate cleaning up the backyard...
You may think it's unfair but we call it tough-love and she really does seem to enjoy it. :)
Here is a beautiful shot Grammy took of her when we all visited the playground together - she rarely sits still that long!
Jackson & Dad sporting their Tech gear - Wreck 'Em, Texas Tech!
Mr. Contemplative
Kip thinks that I only like to take pictures of our children sleeping - that was my history w/ Kate at least. But they are so precious and angelic when they sleep so peacefully w/ not a care in the world!
Kate is always loving on Jackson and being a good big sis.
Except for the rare moments she wishes she were the baby... here she is trying to cram herself into our cosleeper.
Kate at the Country Critters pumpkin patch & petting zoo
One of the many goats she sweetly kissed
Playing on their wooden train playground
With the Shelton boys - this picture does not even begin to capture the chaos that was involved in trying to get this shot w/ 4 faces through this pumpkin cutout!
She was super serious this day but had a fun time - it was the first cold day this year for us in Dallas.
I couldn't believe she would do this but she went on this little "train" ride w/ the 3 boys - she was surely the youngest one on the train and the only girl that ride. She hung on for dear life but had fun (at least in the begininng...) I know I was more worried than she was!
Picking out her pumpkin
Having a 'moment' when Daddy tried to ask her to look at the camera - she's a passionate little Katie-bird sometimes!
Ready for her closeup!
Proof that I also take pictures of babies when they are awake...
Finally captured his smile on camera! Of course, it's bigger in real life but he starts to scowl when the flash gets in his face.
You may think it's unfair but we call it tough-love and she really does seem to enjoy it. :)
Here is a beautiful shot Grammy took of her when we all visited the playground together - she rarely sits still that long!
Jackson & Dad sporting their Tech gear - Wreck 'Em, Texas Tech!
Mr. Contemplative
Kip thinks that I only like to take pictures of our children sleeping - that was my history w/ Kate at least. But they are so precious and angelic when they sleep so peacefully w/ not a care in the world!
Kate is always loving on Jackson and being a good big sis.
Except for the rare moments she wishes she were the baby... here she is trying to cram herself into our cosleeper.
Kate at the Country Critters pumpkin patch & petting zoo
One of the many goats she sweetly kissed
Playing on their wooden train playground
With the Shelton boys - this picture does not even begin to capture the chaos that was involved in trying to get this shot w/ 4 faces through this pumpkin cutout!
She was super serious this day but had a fun time - it was the first cold day this year for us in Dallas.
I couldn't believe she would do this but she went on this little "train" ride w/ the 3 boys - she was surely the youngest one on the train and the only girl that ride. She hung on for dear life but had fun (at least in the begininng...) I know I was more worried than she was!
Picking out her pumpkin
Having a 'moment' when Daddy tried to ask her to look at the camera - she's a passionate little Katie-bird sometimes!
Ready for her closeup!
Proof that I also take pictures of babies when they are awake...
Finally captured his smile on camera! Of course, it's bigger in real life but he starts to scowl when the flash gets in his face.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Not Me Monday - a new tradition
My sweet friend and prenatal chiropractor Dr. Cindy shared her blog with me and I have discovered a new way to vent and confess in a way that uses humor to rationalize it all. :) So... here is my first attempt at a Not Me! Monday (thank you, MckMama!), and while I surely won't do them every week this one has been strangely cathartic. Enjoy.
I would never bribe my kiddo to go in the potty with sweets or unhealthy treats, no, not me! And then, realizing what a bad idea that was, I would never panic about the outrageous number of treats she was getting as she tinkled in the potty all day long. And I wouldn't have had to switch to giving dried cherries and raisins as treats, which would cause my daughter to just sob hysterically about being offered a healthier snack incentive, Not my child! So in response I would never just quit the treat incentive program cold turkey and she would never freak out and sob about not getting 'yum!'s for every potty incident. No, not me! - that would create extra drama and just be a bad idea all around and I surely would have executed this potty training plan far more efficiently.
If I were to give Kate a nemo sticker for peeing in the potty, and then she accidentally and immediately knocked it off her shirt and into the potty (full only of water...), I would never consider even for a split-second sticking my hand in the toilet bowl to retrieve that beloved sticker. (even if it was the ONLY nemo sticker we had...), no, Not me! That would be disgusting to even contemplate! And in a moment of panic trying to not have her cry at losing her precious sticker that she held for only a moment, I would never make a game of saying "bye bye, nemo! bye bye!!" and doing a big dramatic smile and wave as we sent him off with a flush. And now, my daughter would not think this is a normal game and proceed to flush nearly every single sticker she gets after enjoying it for about an hour. Nope. If you were at our house you would never hear her little feet plodding down the hall all by herself, opening the toilet seat, saying "bye bye, turtle" or "bye bye, mickey!" followed by a flush and lots of clapping and laughter, not my child! That would be ridiculous and a total waste of water and I would never let such silly behavior continue for the last 2 weeks, no, not me!
I would also never let my car stereo be permanently hijacked by an almost 2-year old who demands her fun yet "drive-your-momma-crazy" Laurie Berkner Band CD be played incessantly over and over, no, not me! That would be giving an awful lot of control for such a small person who surely needs to learn that the world does not revolve entirely around them. And despite attempts by this 2-year old to get this CD turned on by demanding it LOUDLY and passionately from the backseat, I would never just totally succumb to her wishes to get a moments peace, no, not me! I know how to fight my battles and stand my ground with my kiddos and I am always the boss.
We only use perfect English and grammar here in this household (as you can plainly see from my writings on this blog, lol) and I would never use goofy slang around my kiddos, no, not me! So Kate would never come up from behind me and start slapping me on my rear-end shouting "BOOTY! BOOTY!" with wild eyes and excitement, laughing hysterically at her own joke, no, not my child! Or if I were to take her to the big potty and she were to have a successful tinkle, she would never look at the potty afterwards and shout, "Awesome!" no, not my child! That would sound totally ridiculous of the mouth of such a little girl.
And if we were to go to a pumpkin patch that had a petting zoo, my daughter would not give the goats more kisses than she has given both of her parents in the last 3 months combined, no, not my child! She knows and is concerned about proper hygiene, and would never be kissing on other people's goats saying "love you, goat!"
I feel so much better, ya'll should try this. :)
I would never bribe my kiddo to go in the potty with sweets or unhealthy treats, no, not me! And then, realizing what a bad idea that was, I would never panic about the outrageous number of treats she was getting as she tinkled in the potty all day long. And I wouldn't have had to switch to giving dried cherries and raisins as treats, which would cause my daughter to just sob hysterically about being offered a healthier snack incentive, Not my child! So in response I would never just quit the treat incentive program cold turkey and she would never freak out and sob about not getting 'yum!'s for every potty incident. No, not me! - that would create extra drama and just be a bad idea all around and I surely would have executed this potty training plan far more efficiently.
If I were to give Kate a nemo sticker for peeing in the potty, and then she accidentally and immediately knocked it off her shirt and into the potty (full only of water...), I would never consider even for a split-second sticking my hand in the toilet bowl to retrieve that beloved sticker. (even if it was the ONLY nemo sticker we had...), no, Not me! That would be disgusting to even contemplate! And in a moment of panic trying to not have her cry at losing her precious sticker that she held for only a moment, I would never make a game of saying "bye bye, nemo! bye bye!!" and doing a big dramatic smile and wave as we sent him off with a flush. And now, my daughter would not think this is a normal game and proceed to flush nearly every single sticker she gets after enjoying it for about an hour. Nope. If you were at our house you would never hear her little feet plodding down the hall all by herself, opening the toilet seat, saying "bye bye, turtle" or "bye bye, mickey!" followed by a flush and lots of clapping and laughter, not my child! That would be ridiculous and a total waste of water and I would never let such silly behavior continue for the last 2 weeks, no, not me!
I would also never let my car stereo be permanently hijacked by an almost 2-year old who demands her fun yet "drive-your-momma-crazy" Laurie Berkner Band CD be played incessantly over and over, no, not me! That would be giving an awful lot of control for such a small person who surely needs to learn that the world does not revolve entirely around them. And despite attempts by this 2-year old to get this CD turned on by demanding it LOUDLY and passionately from the backseat, I would never just totally succumb to her wishes to get a moments peace, no, not me! I know how to fight my battles and stand my ground with my kiddos and I am always the boss.
We only use perfect English and grammar here in this household (as you can plainly see from my writings on this blog, lol) and I would never use goofy slang around my kiddos, no, not me! So Kate would never come up from behind me and start slapping me on my rear-end shouting "BOOTY! BOOTY!" with wild eyes and excitement, laughing hysterically at her own joke, no, not my child! Or if I were to take her to the big potty and she were to have a successful tinkle, she would never look at the potty afterwards and shout, "Awesome!" no, not my child! That would sound totally ridiculous of the mouth of such a little girl.
And if we were to go to a pumpkin patch that had a petting zoo, my daughter would not give the goats more kisses than she has given both of her parents in the last 3 months combined, no, not my child! She knows and is concerned about proper hygiene, and would never be kissing on other people's goats saying "love you, goat!"
I feel so much better, ya'll should try this. :)
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