Messy Girl

Maryn and I got groceries this morning while Makenna was at preschool. When we got home I was trying to find an activity to occupy her while I put the groceries away and she was wanting my recipe box. I knew she would create a huge mess, but was willing to let it go as long as I could get a free moment to put the groceries away. Well let's just say the mess got a little more carried away than I had planned on...

Didn't start out too bad...


I think someone's having fun :)


Okay, the mess is growing by the minute...


And without my knowledge she moved on to the next room to make an even bigger mess :)


Doesn't she look like she's having so much fun?! And she's so proud of the mess she's made! I couldn't even be upset about the mess because she was having so much fun!

So Far Behind...

I'm having trouble finding time to blog in case you all couldn't tell! Life has just been hectic around here! I ended up postponing my trip to Chicago because my Dad was in the hospital and I wanted to go to Cedar Falls to be with him last weekend. He is doing much better and is recuperating at home now. I am going to Chicago to meet Eden this weekend and I can't wait!

The girls have been good. Really good. They are such a breath of fresh air for me. Maybe it's because I just came from a classroom full of hyper, undisciplined 5 year olds, but I could just squeeze my girls to bits and pieces tonight. I was so excited to go pick up Makenna from her classroom. Even though my girls aren't perfect and may have their moments of crankiness :), they are so well-behaved and such sweet little girls. I'm am so thankful for Makenna and Maryn.

Maryn's had a rough last few weeks. She went probably 5-6 months without getting any teeth (after her inital 6 teeth came in) and now just got 4 of her molars in the last two to three weeks! Ouch! She has been surprisingly very good through most of it, with just a few crabby, clingy moments. She doesn't even typically get up or need anything at night due to the pain which I find absolutely amazing. That child loves her sleep :)

Maryn has a cute new habit. Anytime she gets really excited or wants something really bad, she will stand in one place and start stomping her feet and pointing (all while making "ah ah ah ah" noises). The stomping is so cute because it almost looks like she's trying to run in place :)

A story from awhile back that I forgot to blog about... the girls and I were at the playland at the mall and Makenna told me that she had to use the bathroom. So we walked to the nearest restroom and me, Makenna and Maryn in her stroller were all huddled into the handicap accessible stall. The bathroom was empty when we walked in but someone else came in after us and went in the stall next door. Makenna was taking her slow toddler time about things and then loudly announces in a very disgruntled voice "Mommy someone's really stinky!" And let me tell you, it wasn't Makenna that was stinky! Imagine my complete embarassment, but yet at the same time I'm trying not to laugh out loud! I rushed the girls out of there hoping we wouldn't run into whoever was in the stall next to us, but I think she was mortified enough to hide in there until we left.

Makenna has had a difficult time remembering Eden's name. So I was surprised a few mornings ago when she randomly told me that "Duckie has a new sister and her name is Eden." I said "Really! But you have a cousin named Eden." And she said "Yeah Mommy! Now we have two Edens in our family!" Of course! Why didn't I think of that!

Mischief Maker

I found some adorable pajamas on the clearance rack for Makenna the other day. They have two little monkeys on the front and it says "Mischief Maker". Unfortunately they don't make these in Maryn's size because she is the child that should be wearing them! She is definitely our mischief maker! Full-of-it, push-her-luck, sometimes devious, whatever you want to call it! :) The funny thing is is that she is still our really good baby (okay toddler, but I still call her my baby). She will have days of just being an angel, and then I'll have a morning like yesterday morning where I just don't know what to do with the kid! When she gets in her mischievous mood she will purposely go to the things in the house that she knows are off limits and test me! If anyone tells her "No no" she will just smile and if you raise your voice after repeated attempts of trying to get her stop she will just start laughing at us. We try removing her from whatever situation it may be and distracting her with something else but it doesn't work. This kid will stop at nothing to prove her point and get her way! The thing that just makes it all the harder - God gave her that adorable dimple and those twinkling eyes so even when she's being naughty it's hard not to smile at her. I can't tell you how many times Josh or I have had to leave the room or turn our heads so she can't see us smiling or laughing. I've always heard that every child is different to parent and so far that has proven to be true... Makenna was a higher maintenance baby whereas Maryn was super laidback. As a toddler, Makenna has a very big heart and will start crying if you even look at her crossly whereas Maryn will just laugh at us and try again. Right now I'm just thankful that her mischievous mood isn't an everyday thing :)

I always have a hard time telling who my kids look like. I hear repeatedly how much Makenna looks like Josh, but I don't know if people just say that because she has lighter hair like him. As she's gotten older I've seen more of the resemblance, especially when they are sitting right next to each other. But the other night I had the weirdest experience... Maryn was sitting in her highchair finishing up her dinner and as I glanced over at her all of a sudden it was like I was looking at my 1 year old pictures! She looks just like me as a 1 year old! Albeit a much thinner me at 1 year old, but she has the exact same eyes, nose, mouth and hair color. It's an amazing thing to see this in your own child.

The girls have started going to the gym daycare with me during the day so I can get my workouts in earlier in the day rather than always waiting until after they are in bed. This works out much better for our family since we have two people trying to fit workouts into our crazy schedule. Anyway, as is to be expected, Makenna loves going and playing with all the kids. She doesn't even bat an eye. Maryn has her good days and bad days. Some days she'll run in there and not look back whereas other days I'll pick her up and I can tell that she's been crying :( I hate that. But the ladies that take care of her told me that the thing that bothers her the most is when other moms come to pick up their kids, Maryn wants to leave with them! She thinks it should be her turn to leave and the other moms are her ticket out of the play area! She apparently will stand at the little kids door with her arms outstretched wanting all the other moms to take her! That child concerns me since she has no weariness of strangers whatsoever. Much too trusting of a soul. We will be doing lots of talk about stranger danger when she gets old enough. Luckily Maryn has a very sweet older sister... the ladies that work in the daycare have told me that Makenna will come over to Maryn and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to her when she gets upset because "That's what Mommy does." :)

More Eden :)

Happy 1 week old Eden! I know there are lots of you out there wanting more pictures of the newest member of the family so I thought I'd happily oblige and show off my cute niece :) Things continue to be going well for them... Eden is a very good baby. She is nursing very well and is starting to have some longer spurts of sleep at night (good for mom and dad!). Jeanne and JT are adjusting to their new roles exceptionally well. I will be going in this weekend for a visit so I'm sure I'll have more pictures next week!

Sweet sweet baby!


Josh's favorite picture...


My favorite picture.... I can't believe how curled up she got on her bouncy seat!


Could she get any more warm and snuggly?!


The happy family!


In other fun baby news, we just found out that my cousin Chris and his wife Micki welcomed their 3rd daughter, Bernadette Irene, into the world yesterday! I guess these second cousins wanted their birthdays close together (Bernadette was 3 weeks early). This brings the total count of greatgrandchildren for my Grandma Boutott up to 16, but the even more amazing part is that there are 14 girls and 2 boys!!! 14-2!! Who would've ever bet on those odds!

Pictures of Eden

Oh I just got the pictures of Eden via email and it brought tears to my eyes! She is absolutely perfect! I am going crazy waiting here, but I'll be patient and wait my turn. This weekend is all about the grandparents and then next weekend is some serious Auntie Katie and Eden bonding time!!!

Look at this beautiful little girl...





I always try to find resemblances in babies (even though most of them just look like babies!) and the only picture I see any resemblance is the bottom picture I think she kind of looks like JT. Hmmmm... I can't wait to see the next batch of pictures! Babies always change so quickly. Way to go Jeanne and JT - she's beautiful!

Eden Gabrielle Thomas

Eden Gabrielle Thomas came into this world at 9:05 pm on Wednesday, January 16th! Mom and baby are both doing well after about an 18 hour labor and delivery! I called again this morning and they were both sleeping so I think that's a good sign! Congratulations Jeanne and JT! What a little blessing you have!

Eden's stats -
8 lbs 0 oz.
20 1/2 inches long

She had very good Apgar scores and has a full head of fuzzy brown hair (just like her mommy had when she was born!). And according to Grandma and Grandpa she's very alert, looks around a lot and is absolutely beautiful! :) I guess she really likes to suck (on anything according to her mommy!) and is already enjoying this eating thing quite a bit!

I can't wait to meet you baby Eden! I'm counting down the days until next Friday! Now it's my turn to be the baby hog in the family :)

Pictures coming soon!

Makenna - 3 1/2 Years Old

All About Makenna at 3 1/2 years old....

This year her 1/2 birthday is extra special because she actually gets to celebrate it at school (since she's a summer birthday). She is so excited! And to top it off, her 1/2 birthday fell on pajama day at school so she got to wear her favorite duckie pajamas to school this morning for her 1/2 birthday! :)

Nicknames: Kenna, Nenna, Nenna Benna (anything that rhymes with "enna"), Buddy, Peanut
Weight & Height: Believe it or not she hasn't grown much since her 3rd birthday (3 ft 5 in) but has continued to gain weight. She has finally filled out a little bit!
Hair: Still long blond wispy hair. She gave herself yet another haircut just after Christmas so we now have two different layers of bangs. So much for growing them out for the last year and a half!!! I've debated about growing out all of her bangs but the lady that cuts her hair told me that she has a smaller forehead and that her hair will constantly be in her eyes if I grow them out. Since she despises ponytails and barrettes, I'm thinking it's not a good idea until she's old enough to keep her hair out of her face herself.
Favorite foods: brats, hamburger pizza, jelly beans, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Favorite Drink: Mostly she just drinks skim milk, water and watered down apple juice. For a treat every once in awhile she'll have chocolate milk and hot chocolate with marshmallows after playing in the snow :) Oh and Daddy let her try his blue Powerade once and she thought that was pretty cool!
Favorite toys: Care Bears continue to be a big hit around our house and the amount of Care Bear equipment has multiplied exponentially in the last few months thanks to Poppy and Peepie (see picture below!). And our latest imagination game is role playing the story of Cinderella over and over and over. And of course we have to get all dressed up to fit the part! She also likes to play games (memory, Candyland) and do puzzles.
Favorite stuffed animal: Duckie
Favorite Books: The Five Little Monkeys books
Bedtime: We try to start heading to bed around 7:30 pm and most of the time she will fall asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. Right now bedtime has been a little later though... we got off due to the holidays.
Wake-up time: If she could continue on the schedule she has going right now, she would prefer to wake up at 8:30 am everyday. But that doesn't work too well for preschool and other activities so if she's not up already I try to wake her up by 7:45/8:00 am. The other day she shocked us all by sleeping in until 10:00 am! I couldn't believe it! I tried to wake her up a few times but she wouldn't budge... Josh told me to let her sleep in case she was coming down with something. Come to find out she was just catching up on some sleep :)
Naps: Almost nonexistent. Took a few naps over the holidays due to having a cold.
Favorite person: Her best friends from preschool, Hanna and Emilee. And her best friend at church, Zariya.
Latest Accomplishment: Writing her name and Maryn's name, sounding out letters and being able to identify what letter a word starts with by sounding it out, she's very interested in trying to spell words and read, figuring out how to rhyme words
Likes: PRESCHOOL, playing in the snow, anything to do with the Princesses (especially Cinderella)
Dislikes: wearing socks, being too warm, if her shirt sleeve gets caught up in her coat when she puts it on
What gets said about Makenna most often: I think it's the same answer that I give for this one every time - that she is tall for her age or that she is actually older than she is
Best known for: being very outgoing, her yellow duck
Fears: the window in her room and the noises that come from it at night (mostly the wind)
Favorite shows: Cinderella movie that she got from Santa Claus Health: Very healthy. Her eczema seems to have all but disappeared this winter - YEAH! The doctor said there was a good chance that would happen as she got older! We've also been testing out her pea allergy and I think that may have gone away with age as well. She's actually really excited about this... she wants to eat peas because Maryn does :)
How she's like Daddy: She has a huge heart! Loves wrestling and has a killer single leg!
How she's like Mommy: She's very nurturing and a little mommy to Maryn
Interesting Tidbits: Makenna snores. Yes, our 3 year old snores! She will also call me mama (as opposed to the typical mommy) when she thinks she's in trouble :) She must think it's more endearing and she's trying to sweeten me up!

A Day Of Ouchies

Maryn had a really rough day yesterday. She just seemed to keep getting hurt. We were at Bible study in the morning and she roamed into the next room and ended up hurt somehow (even though there was nothing in the room). The only thing I could see was an outlet and I pray she didn't get shocked. Then she touched a warm space heater at Bible study as well... luckily I don't think it burned her but it sure did scare her for awhile. Then yesterday afternoon she was grabbing for some crackers in the pantry and she toppled over the graham cracker box. She immediately started screaming but I was standing right there and didn't think it had hit her so I couldn't figure it out. I immediately started looking at her foot because I thought that was the only place it might have hit her. Well after examining her foot for awhile I looked up at her face and she had this big bloody scratch down her cheek. Apparently the edge of the box grazed her on its way down. It looks much worse than it actually is, but she sure screamed at the time. Poor thing. She's been doing so well at not getting many ouchies lately (especially considering how active and daring she can be) so hopefully we filled her quota for awhile yesterday.

Some pics of the most recent ouchie...