Molly Moo Turns Two

Dear Molly,
I could just sit and watch you for hours.  You are the happiest person I have ever met.  You have a giant belly laugh that you use all the time.  Everything makes you laugh.  I hope you keep this ability to enjoy the little things in your life.  Not only are you happy, but you are growing and changing so fast.

You talk non stop.  You say everything Alivia says (good and bad)  You also copy everyone else.  There are plenty of original words and thoughts comming out of your mouth too.


This week you started calling me Angie, and you think it is funny.  You love baby dolls and spend hours placing them in chairs, laps, strollers, tables, floors and beds then covering them with blankets.  You take your babies everywhere.

You are one tough cookie in a tiny package of cuteness.  Your blonde hair and blue eyes fool everyone when they meet you.  I just let them visit with your for a while and it never fails that they come to me and say "Wow, she is a tough little one isn't she!"  You have no idea that you are not as big as all the older kids that you play with.   Not only do you already think you are 10 feet tall but you have NO FEAR.  You will jump into a pool by yourself.  You actually get mad when swimming because you want us to LET GO.  You climb the highest equipment at every playground we go to and you insist on being in the middle of the action at all times.

I guess no fear isn't exactly accurate.  You do not like loud noises like the neighbor's go cart or the lawn mower.  You are afraid of the tiny fan at the top of the stairs, but not of climbing up and down our huge steep wooden stairs.  You are also afraid of Rugar's (Grandma and Granpa's dog) rawhide chew bone.  What is that all about?


As you grow and change from a baby into a little girl I continue to be amazed.  I learn from you every day
You are my second daughter and my third child but definitely second to none.  You are your own person and have  been since the day I met you.  I love discovering who you are and wondering who you will be.  I love you with all my heart.  Happy Birthday baby girl.

Marlin turns 4!

My little man is four years old.

He has been ready for his birthday for months!!!  About 6 weeks before the big day, he woke up one Saturday and sneaked slowly down the stairs and with his sweet little smile he looked at me and said "Is today my birthday?"

When it finally got here, we had a great birthday week.  On his actual birthday I picked the kids up.  Matt was planning on going swimming with all of us when he got off work but he was working late so we had a little time to kill.  I asked Marlin what he wanted for dinner.  He could have anything he wanted.  Of course, he chose McDonalds, but he wanted to go all out for his birthday and eat AT the restaurant.  The kids and I ate dinner at MickyD's and then went swimming.  After swimming we bathed the kids, put them in their jammies and gave them snacks in the locker rooms so we could go home and go straight to bed.  On the way home Birthday boy was still pretty fired up.  He was telling us all the things we were going to do when we got home.  I told him that we were going to bed when we got home.

Then Marlin said "NO, I don't want to go to bed.  I want to be four."

I said "Marlin you will still be four tomorrow when you wake up."


"I will?" He said and he was much more willing for bedtime.  I guess telling him that he was going to be 4 on his birthday had been taken a little too literally by my little guy. 

For the weekend party, Marlin wanted "a house party."  So we had a Spiderman party in the back yard.
Cousin Marley got her first tatoo and all the kids played all day.  It was a good time.

I can't believe my little man is four.  Marlin, thanks for being the sweetest, funniest best son a mother could have.  I love you one hundred fifty thousand and one!

Because I missed Marlin's birthday post...

Happy belated birthday Marlin!
Well, its a little late but I didn't forget your birthday in real life, I just forgot to blog about it. So here it goes, better late than never.

You are three years old now! I can believe my sweet, sweet boy is three. You lost your baby face this year and now look like a little boy.
Some of the big things you did this year include:

Potty training - You did it yourself. You told us you wanted to wear your Thomas the train undies about 2 weeks after Molly was born and that was it, very few accidents. Then about 7 months later you decided you no longer could be bothered with taking time to use the toilet so you had accidents several times a day from April to August. You drove us crazy. We even took you to the doctor about it. One week before preschool started you decided it was important again and you haven't had an accident since.

The terrible twos... - You tried to test us a little this year. But I will NEVER say you had the TERRIBLE Twos. You are way too sweet to be terrible. Even when you are trying to be rotten it is so cute your dad and I often have to turn our heads so you can't see us smiling or laughing at you.

You went to art class with a bunch of kids that were older than you and the teacher told us you were an angel. You love to sit and work on projects and have amazing focus for a little boy.

You are smart and silly and funny and sweet. oh yeah and cute as a button. You have the ability to work me like no one else. As a matter of fact you are home with me today while I am working because you used those big puppy dog eyes on me this morning when I tried to drop you off at the babysitter and I picked you up and brought you right back home.

I hope you are always so cuddly and sweet. I have also seen you learn to climb, run, play and talk much more clearly. You can talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. I love to hear what you have to say. I hope your sweet sweet heart stays that way forever.

Thanks for being my only son and my middle child. (I'll try not to forget your birthday post next year)

love
mom

Happy Birthday Alivia

YOU CAN NOT BE 5!

It seems like I just brought you home from the hospital. I can remember so clearly the first time we were alone at home and I took my first 600 pictures of your amazing little face.

Now you are five years old. You are starting your second year of preschool and you are really growing up.


I saw you lead your little brother into the school this morning for the orientation. You were such an upperclassman. You showed him the ropes and were brave and kind.

This year you still love princesses and I do not look forward to you getting too big or too cool for them. You also love Barbie and we let you get a few this year for your birthday.
You are starting to read words and your sharp mind continues to amaze me. You are so quick you even keep me hoppin quite often.

I am really enjoying you as a 5 year old because you pick up on so much about the world. I am watching your personality blossom and learning who you are and who you will be. So far you are smart, beautiful, great in an emergency (unfortunately we have seen that a few times this year), you are caring, you are responsible and your ability to know how people feel is a gift. You have always had that gift but it is growing and your pick up on things that even I do not see.

I love you more every day. Thanks for being my first child, my oldest daughter and most of all for being you!

Love
Mom

Bye Bye Baby

Molly Moo is ONE!

I can't believe it. I'm sure I can not explain what that child's short life has done for me. She has given me the best year of my life and the worst year of my life.

During this past year...

She has learned to roll, sit, crawl, walk, eat and play.

I have learned many lessons about how precious every smile and every moment truly is. Her spirit, her personality, her happiness and her strength is unlike anything I have ever known.

She has learned to understand the English language and to "get her brother and sisters" and to hold her own bottle and to love kitty cats.

I've spent some time in a constant state of prayer, a constant state of shock, a constant state of thankfulness, constant state of exhaustion, a constant state of fear, a constant state of bravery, a constant state of helplessness and a constant state of happiness.

She has learned to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! (yeah molly it only took 11.99 months, I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with your mother's inability to discipline you or let you cry)

Add her undeniable cuteness and she is a lethal weapon. I'm still not sure I will ever be able to say no to that kid. Unless she eats glass or attempts to dive head first off the porch steps.

Not everything Molly did this year was learned. She came into this world knowing several things instinctively. From the moment we met her she knew how to let us know when she wanted something, she knew how to be loud (no idea where she gets that), she knew how to love and she knew how to be my third child my little spunky baby.

Her screams are either very good or very bad. There is no middle ground when it comes to this girl. Her squeals of delight are fantastic. They pierce your eardrums. It is the greatest noise in the entire world. (Well its a tie with the squeals and the laughter) Her cries are every bit as intense. Her first day at the babysitter I received a phone call and rushed over to feed my starving baby. She was fine by the time I got there but the babysitter said "I just didn't expect her to cry so HARD."
She developed a reputation among the nurses at the hospital as a little spitfire at 4 months old. We were asked several times if she was a red head. The strength in that tiny human has amazed me hundreds of times in this crazy roller coaster of a year.

So thank you Molly Moo for teaching me to love more than I thought possible, to appreciate a world I didn't even know existed and for keeping us all smiling everyday. May you always be as happy as you are today. Happy Birthday