Our Christmas Pagent

Yesterday we had our ward Christmas party and the primary children got to dress up and sing a couple of Christmas songs as part of the program.  There was Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men, the animals, and of course their were the Shepherds.  But there was one little blond boy who was not dressed in his shepherd costume, of course everyone noticed how could you not.  For this little boy had so much energy and sang his heart out and played his bells for all that it was worth.  After the program was over the little boy was asked why he did not want to wear his costume and he simply replied " Mommy it would have messed up my hair."  Yes you read that right he was so worried about his hair and putting a towel on it to be a shepherd was out of the question because he had to look good when he sang, I just had to smile to myself.

Our Cute little Lilly Bug

As I promised yesterday that I would have some new pictures of Miss Lilly for all of you to enjoy.  As you can see in this picture how the sun makes her hair so light almost angel like (which she is not).  But she sure is entertaining these days (when she is not beating someone up).  And she is sure talking a lot more now that she has found her words.  Let me explain when she was being watched by someone else she just got sat in front of the TV or played by herself when Paul was at school and so she did not know as many words as she should at this age.  But sense I have been home all that has changed and she is saying a lot more even has more attitude.  The other day I told her no about something that she wanted or was doing and she walked away mocking me saying " no Lilly" Lilly, no."  I just had to laugh and turn to Mark and ask him if she really was mocking me.  And let me tell you she has some big time attitude, maybe that is what makes her so cute. 

Over the past few weeks we have been working with her on saying her full name it is the cutest thing ever to hear her say it, but Tucker is her favorite part to say, and you do have to admit that it is fun to say.  You also need to hear her say " Sweet Dreams, don't let the bed bug bite."  You just want to smile when you hear it.  Now when you look into her eyes you can see that she is up to something and she knows it.  For example she knows when Mark comes home every night and so she will wake up about 30 min before he comes home and waits for him to walk in that door and then she just smile and says " Hi Dad," Mark is a goner and can't be mad at her so he just picks her up and gives her big hugs.  She so has her daddy tied around her little finger (Mark you know it is sooo true).  Because last night daddy gave her a horse ride to bed, (talk about spoiled) and she loved every minute of it of course.

So there is our Lilly Bug update for you all.  As you can tell she sure does keep my busy .

Introducing Our Super Model

 

So we all know that Paul is one of the cutest 4 year old's out there.  We would be dumb if we thought other wise.  Not only his personality but everything about him.

But has you look at these pictures you will see why all the girls go crazy over him young and old alike, just ask him and he will tell you that it is true.

Just look into those eyes and he will draw you right in.  This is the pic that is posted on Facebook because it was our photographer's favorite pics of all times.  Now you see why we call him our super model, because he looks like one and takes pictures like one.  Of course by looking at these you cannot tell that he was not a happy camper when these were taken.  So now you can see my point..... Tomorrow I will post pictures of our Lillybug and her cute curly hair.

The Joy of kids

Today the kiddies have been really cute.  Lilly and Rickylyn had put their coats on and where telling me goodbye an giving me loves and kisses because they were "going shopping" (of course in the kids bedroom).  And then Paul decided that he wanted to play the game too, so he found a plastic bag and started putting stuff into it saying it was his dinner.  So then the two little girls decided that they needed a bag too.  It was the cutest thing ever, and Paul just loves to play with the little girls.

It is just amazing what imagination that kids have, I am glad that my children have great imagination because there are so many kids today that would rather play video games or watch non stop t.v instead of using their wonderful imagination to entertain themselves.  And it is so entertaining for me to sit back and watch what they come up with next. Believe me I have been Princess Peach plenty of times for Mario(Paul) to come and rescue me from the bad guys.  But I enjoy it so much and would not trade any minute of it.

Our Christmas Tree

Lilly having way to much fun with the lights.  She thought that they looked better on her then on the tree.  She is so excited about Christmas this year, at least the tree and lights.  Oh how we love our Lilly.

Paul and Lilly are helping daddy put the lights on our Christmas tree.  They decided that putting the lights on themselves was more fun then putting them on the tree.

Paul and Lilly where so excited to bring the tree home.  Lilly is always giving the tree a big hug every morning when she wakes up.  It is a good thing that we picked one with soft needles so she does not get poked.

This is our Short Fat Christmas Tree that my Parents got us for Christmas. It is perfect for our apartment and the kidos love it.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

Potty Training

The joys of potty training you gotta love it!  But thanks to Mr Paul who has taken it upon himself to potty train his sister for the past few months have paid off.  Lilly has now really found an interest in going potty like a big girl all thanks to her big brother. Every morning Paul would have Lilly go potty with him when they woke up and then I would hear words of praise come from him like: " you did it baby girl" or " yeah you did it sweetheart you went potty."  And then he would come and find Mark or I to let us know that Lilly went potty like a big girl.

For the past two days she has done really well and has stayed dry for most of the day and going potty or letting us know that she has to go.  And now she has this dance and song that she does when she gos in the potty it is the cutest thing.  She calls it her pee dance, she tells us that she has to go pee instead that she has to go potty.  Or like today when we were shopping she started to pull down her pants and pull up in the shopping cart, I guess she figured that the shopping cart would be as good as any place to go pee. Luckily  I caught her just in time and asked if she needed to go pee and she said yep she need to pee, I informed her that she needed to go pee in the potty and not in the shopping cart.  So when Mark took her to the restroom sure enough she had to go.  This little story reminded me of when Jaylyn and I we being potty trained and we were also shopping with my mother I was sitting on the bottom and my sister was sitting on the top, the next thing my mom knew that I was screaming and she looked and saw that there was a steam coming down and landing on my head and Jaylyn was just sucking her fingers thinking that she wasn't doing anything wrong.  Yep everyone my sister peed on my head.

Halloween 2011

 

My Cute little Witch and Pirate.  Lilly this year understood the whole trick or treating.  She also thought that she could grab two handfuls of candy with being adorable and all.  She had to learn that was not the case and that she could only take one or two pieces of candy.  It took mommy, Grandam Terry and Papa De to put Paul's pirate costume together.  And it was hard to get it off of him last night and tonight.  The kids enjoyed Halloween this year and are already talking about next year.

Blessing of Being at home

This week I have been pondering the blessing of being at home.  One big one is that I am able to help take care of my grandma and spend some time with her that is well over due.  If I was working I would not be able to do this.  Another one is that I am able to raise my children the way that will benefit them in the future.  Another one is that I am able to set a schedule for them that they get in the rhythm of following  which makes life a whole lot easier on all of us.  Not only that but I get to spend true quality time with them which sometimes was harder to do when I was working.  The blessings our endless and just the joy alone is so worth it. I would not trade it for anything and wish that I had made the choice sooner.  

4 year old for sale!!!!!

You know that it has been one of those weeks when you want to sell your 4 year old.  Holy Cow, he has been so mouth and he thinks that he does not have to take a nap, clean his room, pick up his toys and books, and go to bed at night.  It is all about being a big boy and not a baby and "big boys don't have to do what mommy or daddy says" according to my four year old.  This discovering is independence is driving me up the wall.  I love him and I love doing things with him, but his whole bad boy attitude is getting to me.  And Lilly still thinks that he is the coolest big brother ever and so she does exactly what he does.  So for all my family and friends who see me next time I might be bald and you will now know why.

Terrible Two's and Mouthy Four's

I don't know if I will survive the terrible two's and the mouthy four's.  The past two days have been a nightmare.  I am ready to pull my hair out.  Lilly has been getting into everything and I mean everything, and to top it off she thinks that it is cool to take her pull up off.

And then there is Paul who thinks that he can back talk you whenever you tell him to do something, or worse he thinks that he does not need to listen to mommy, arrrrrrggggg!!!!!!! you got to love kids!

Halloween Party

So we had a Halloween Birthday party for Paul and Lilly! We had the kids dress up in their Halloween costumes and watched spooky buddies, had finger foods, hit a pumpkin shaped pinata, and ate caramel apples.  It was a loads of fun and Glori and Shane(aunt and uncle) had the house all decorated and they did an amazing job. Lilly and Paul's Aunt Jaylyn made yummy caramel apple cupcakes that were to die for.(keep an eye out for her blog/web page).  I will have pictures posted soon!

Rainy Days

So we are going on our second rainy day in a row.  So today my mommy sent me an email about activities that she did when I was a wee little one.  So I wanted to pass this on to all those that read my blog.  
1. line you chairs up in a row and pretend that it is a train, have you children lean forward and backwards as if you were going up or down a hill. Have the train stop so they can get off and then have it stop again so they can get back on the train.  
2. Put a sheet or a blanket over your clean kitchen table and make a tent that they can play in and eat there snacks too.  My mom said that my bother and sisters and I would fall asleep in the tent sometimes too.
3. Make pudding so that you children can finger paint and like there yummy fingers all they want.
4. Or get some butcher paper and let them draw a big huge picture.
These are just a few.  If you have nay more rainy day idea's please share them.

A Childs Prayer

I am writing this in blue because it is Paul's favorite color and tonight's blog is about Paul and his humble prayers.  I just love t kneel and listen to Paul's prayers they are so humble and teach me a lot about how humble our own prayer's should be like.  Tonight we were saying our family prayer and it is his turn to say it, and the past few nights when Paul prays he humbly bless me as a stay at home mom.  I know that to some that may not mean a whole lot but to me knowing that I need all the blessing I can get as I walk down this new path in my life.  And to hear those words come out of my sweet son means the world to me, and lets me know that he knows that his Heavenly Father will truly bless me.  

We can learn a lot from our children if we just sit or kneel and listen to them and let them teach us.  In the scriptures we are always told to be "child like", and these past two days I am learning that my prayer's need to be more "child like", meaning that I need to really humble myself and let Heavenly Father Bless me and help me in my daily routine.  And I learned all of this from my 4 year old son, who has such great Faith.

I wanted to start this blog so that family and friends could see what I am up to these days.  And to share Paul and Lilly Moments.  I also wanted to have this blog so that I could share with others the challenges and joys of being a stay at home mom in the world that we live in these days.

I hope that all that read my blog will find how great it is to be a mom and might even find helpful tips.  Please feel free to share this blog site with any mom that you know.  Enjoy!!!!!

-Raylyn