Happy 3rd Birthday, Willow!

Jesse Tree

The Lovingfosses arrived 2 days ago and once again my kids are exhausted!  There is a lot of wrestling and running going on!  I have never been so thankful for a basement!  :)  But exhausted or not, we have holiday things to do!

So today, while Royal and Norma headed off to the Farmer's Market to pick up our Thanksgiving turkey, Fireball and I took the kids to the church to make our Jesse Tree ornaments.  I'm so glad I had Fireball with me because crafts that include markers, scissors, glue, and glitter can always use an extra set of adult hands.  Even with them, things went a little awry.....you will see....

Coloring the ornaments...

Then, onto cutting them out....

Did you happen to notice that Willow lost her shirt?????  That was because while I was distracted putting together the ornament holder book (wrong, at that...had to rip it all apart and practically start over....but whatever...:) ), Willow got impatient about getting to use her scissors.  So, she practiced cutting.....her shirt....

...at least it wasn't her hair!  :)  And with Willow if a shirt gets a spot of dirt, or food, or water, or I guess new holes, on it, she refuses to wear it.  So, off it went.  Willow....my little free spirit.....

Then we did some gluing...

And Jayden did a whole lot of glittering.  But sadly, at this point, my ornament holder book had taken a turn for the worse and I was having to get one-on-one instruction, so my camera didn't get to capture any of the glitter drama, which included entire bottles of glitter getting dumped in a bowl and then most of it ending up on the floor, table, Jayden, etc....with a little sprinkling on the actual ornaments themselves...:)  It was fun.  And thankfully the people at our church like me and handed me a broom to help clean up.  :)  Well, I was the last person to finished my ornament holder, they were picking up tables and chairs all around me, so I might as well help clean up too!  :)

Let the advent season begin!

High Maintenance Sam

Sam is kind of high maintenance.  He likes comfort and once he gets a taste of it, there's no going back.  He's not allowed up on on our furniture, but one time he got up on the couch and for months, until we got a kennel for him to sleep in in the house, I had to pile laundry baskets up on every couch or chair at night because his fluffy blankets and cushy bed on the floor just wasn't enough.  And he's smart enough that he would only get up on the couch if we were in the basement or asleep and the minute he heard us coming up the stairs, he'd jump off the couch and go back to his bed.  Too bad he's got noisy tags on his collar or he might of gotten away with it!.  If he's outside laying in the sun, he pulls his bed out of his dog house over to where ever he plans on basking in the sun, so that way he doesn't have to lay on the grass.  He REALLY loves pillows.  When Jayden was preparing for his cousins to come, he made them up a bed on the floor, with sleeping bags and blankets for padding, and he picked out 3 dinosaur pillow cases for the pillows and had them all laid out on the floor just waiting for Brennie and Wy to show up.  Sam thought it was for him.  He laid right down in the middle and pulled all the pillows around himself so he had 2 of them for his back and one for his head.

It is starting to get really cold over here, so Sam's favorite place is hanging out in front of the fire, usually with his head on a caterpillar pillow chair.  Willow wanted to make sure Sam was extra comfy, so she covered him with a blanket.  He didn't move for hours....

Eye Exam

Jayden had his first eye exam today.  I was wearing glasses by the time I was in 1st grade, so I thought I might as well get his vision tested to make sure he didn't get my eyes.  Well, turns out, he probably did.  He is a bit far-sighted, but not bad enough to need glasses yet.  They said that the words in kindergarten are usually big enough to see, but to come back next year and have him tested again because chances are that because of his mother's vision history, they will worsen.

Jayden did so great at his appointment!  A year ago, it would of been really hard to even get him to walk in the door, much less sit in the chair and let them use pieces of equipment to check out his eyes.  He even introduced himself to the doctor, "Hi!  I'm Jayden.  And I'm 5.  What's your name? This is a really comfortable chair!'

So, I guess next year we'll find out if he gets to enter the world of 4-eyes and wearing glasses while you're a kid that will be made fun of by family members for the rest of your life.  Like my infamous gigantic purple pair with blue and pink tinted lenses.  :)

Kid Quote :: 18

Me : Hey Willow, it's almost your birthday!

Willow : Yeah! And you sing me happy birthday song!
(which I'm not allowed to sing until her birthday, anytime I start, she starts yelling, 'No! Stop singing!' until I do)

Me : How old are you gonna be?

Willow : 3.  Just like Jayden.

Me : You will be 3, right!  Jayden, though, he is 5.

Willow : Well, then I will be 5 on my birthday!

Me : You can't be 5 yet!  You get to be 3 first!

Willow : NO!  I. WILL. BE. 5!

Oi....this child....Hopefully she won't be too upset with the 3 candles on her cake on Sunday....

Whirlwind Wagners

Kaylee and her family have only ever been able to visit us for like 2 days at a time, when they are moving across the country and plan their route to come through Wichita.  So when they planned a trip to come visit me for over a week (before they move across the country again), I was so excited!  My mom drove down from Washington to Phoenix and met up with Kaylee there.  Then, my mom, Kaylee, and her three boys piled into Kaylee's mini-van and drove the rest of the way to my house together!  It has been loud, and crazy, and crowded, but it has been so nice to have family around.  Jayden and Brendan and Wyatt play (and for the most part, sleep) so well together.  Willow and Easton don't really get along very well and Willow has managed to teach Easton a few words (like a nasty-toned 'no'), but I consider it pay-back from all the things Brendan and Wyatt have taught Jayden over the years.  The past few days though, Willow has finally stopped teasing and torturing Easton so much, has treated him much nicer, and they've actually managed to play together a few times!  :)

For most of the week, we just hung out here at the house.  The littles can get their naps in, the big ones can play together before Jayden headed off to school. and the moms and nanas can stay in their pj's and take showers whenever they wanted. :)

On Friday, Royal took all of the kids, except Easton, and took them fossil hunting to find oyster shells, and ripples in rocks that was previously sand from when there was an ocean over Kansas, and rocks and creatures that were over 300 million years old.

On Saturday, Kaylee and I went and got our toes done up at Fresh Spa Market.  The perfect place to take a preggo sister, since there are no toxic fumes hanging around the air to poison us or any unborn children, AND you get to pick out whatever scent you want for your soak and lotion.  I picked pumpkin and Kaylee chose vanilla ginger snap, we smelled really good sitting next to each other!  Then after probably the 20th trip to the store to get more food, then some lunch, we went home and packed up the kids and the rest of the adults and headed to one of our favorites spots in Wichita.  The zoo!  I know, shocking, but it really is one of my favorite places...not like there are a whole lot of fantastic places here...but still...

We brought my double stroller for Willow and Easton to ride in, but I think the view is probably much nicer from up here.  And I think Willow liked being able to pet Easton's head without him being able to run away screaming for mom.

My cute, cute, nephew!

That evening, I took Kaylee to Paint the Towne to paint Three Pears.  I had already done this class once before, but it was the only one we liked that was offered while she was here, so I changed the way my pears were laying and figure I'll just hang it up next to my other pear painting!

And that brings us to today.  The Wagners last day with us.  :(  Weather wise, it is really a fantastic day out.  I'm kind of glad my family got to experience the schizophrenic weather we have here.  They rolled into town with 50mph winds blowing them around, rain and mist another day, snow one evening, freezing temperatures and warm temperatures, and even an earthquake.  To today, no wind, clear skies, and 70 degrees.  A perfect day to roll on down to the park.  I am actually giving Kaylee my beloved double B.O.B stroller.  She needs it more than me with baby #4 on the way, but it is really hard for me to let it go.  It is my most treasured piece of baby equipment, and giving it away means my babies aren't really babies anymore.  I have used that thing almost everyday for the past 3 years, it pretty much lived in the back of my car, and I can't even count the miles that it has run with me or the number of times I've had to fix a flat tire because we ran over some nasty burrs.  Willow has practically grown up in that thing.   But, this is the perfect time for Kaylee to take it, since we don't know the next time we will see each other.  Willow is having a bit of a harder time letting it go than me, especially since she knows Easton is getting it.  :)  And our walk to the park was really centered around Willow getting to have one last ride in it.  Little does she know that I am on the hunt for a new single jogging stroller for her to ride in, because we still have lots of working out to do together, and Jayden can ride his bike!

It has been so fun to have family around, I can't believe they are leaving me tomorrow.  And I really can't believe they are leaving me to drive back to Phoenix in order to pack up their house and move to Washington.  I'm just a tad jealous..... One day, I'm just sure that Kaylee and I will share a backyard and our kids will be able to play with each other everyday.  But, in the mean time, I'll be here and truthfully, I will not be alone for long.  Royal's parents fly in on Wednesday, for Willow's birthday and Thanksgiving, then about a week after they leave, my dad will be flying in to visit us for a week, and just 2 days after my dad leaves, my mom will be coming back to spend Christmas with us!  So, we have a good 2 months of visitors!

We've loved having you Wagners!  And next time we see you, you will be a family of 6 with my very first niece for me to cuddle with!

Lightsaber Battling Cousins

Kaylee, her 3 boys, and my mom have driven across the country to visit us here in Kansas!  The 3 older cousins play so well together, there haven't been any fights, hurt feelings, disagreements, or anybody left in tears, at least not yet...the same can't really be said about Willow and Easton :)  There has only been 1 minor injury a day so far, which is really a miracle for how hard they play and how rough they are with each other.  The lightsaber battles have been epic!