Lyla Birthday: 6 Years Old

Lyla turned six years old today. There was once a time when I pictured what my life would look like as a mom to a six year old. It seemed impossible, but now here we are! Today is the day! Lyla greeted me this morning the same as she always does, with a big hug. Then her first question was, "I am six years old. Why aren't my teeth falling out yet?" Ha! She is much anticipating the loss of her first tooth and apparently the clock is ticking! She noticed her gifts on the kitchen counter and hinted at how wonderful it would be to open one right away. She thought she would need to wait for Dad to arrive home from work, so she was delighted when I told her there was no need to wait. Kirk was at work already, but thanks to this amazing technology known as a video call we were able to continue with the present opening celebrations together. We are still in full swing with Christmas break, so our sleep schedule keeps getting pushed later & later. The lazy bum life will come to an screeching halt next week, but that's not the point for today. Lyla received some cute winter clothes (Texas is currently an ice box), a CD, and a kid sized sewing machine. She was a happy girl! We have simplified (for us) our kid gifting quite a bit because I have spent so much time purging stuff we simply do not need. It's always been a constant cycle until I started practicing this new theory --- if you can't consume it, wear it, or learn a skill from it then it's JUNK. Sad but true fact of life and I repeat this to myself as I start twitching in the Target dollar spot...or all of Target for that matter. I really do feel weighed down when we have too much stuff. And I can tell my kids feel the same way about toys! It's overwhelming, "ahhhh what do I play with ahhhh." But right now, even with Christmas barely behind us, we've purged and decluttered and it feels like freeeeeedom!!!! And again, that's not the point for today. Geez. I should really blog more because clearly I've missed the keyboard.

Alright. Lyla and I attempted sewing a pillow case together, until I decided needle and thread should not be used prior to coffee consumption. It's much too painful for the brain. So we made chocolate chip pancakes, per request of the Birthday Girl. And bacon. And strawberries. Yum! We sang Happy Birthday too!

After breakfast Lyla was adamant about recording her annual birthday interview. This is something I started when she was two and usually I'm pretty good about remembering, but this girl is ON TOP OF IT. And technically I shouldn't say I'm "pretty good about remembering" because having Lyla remind me about the interview on her birthday made me realize I still never got around to recording Max's four year interview. Oops! Sooo we did them both today! Better late than never! Thank you Lyla for your persistence and determination because the birthday interviews are my favorite. It's always so silly because their answers are never "right" --- not that they can answer anything wrong about their own likes or dislikes, but I feel like sometimes they just look around the room we are in for something to say during the interview. I get it though. Interviews are tough. The pressure can be scary. Obviously I'm just preparing them for the real world here, ha! Yeah, I'm going with that. Regardless of their answers, I love the interviews because their personalities shine through. Their tiny voices and pronunciation of words change, yet they seem to keep a lot of the same mannerisms and facial expressions they had when we started this tradition.

The birthday interviews made us hungry so I made some lunch, then we played a couple rounds of foosball. The competition gets a little intense when you start losing to a four and six year old. Then we watched a live concert from Lyla. Sadly, she requested no photos during the performance after she busted me taking one. Afterward, Lyla prepared for a little day date with her Aunt Taylor. Taylor picked her up in the afternoon and they spent a couple hours together shopping at ULTA, Sam Moon, and getting frozen yogurt. It was so sweet of Taylor to take Lyla out for some one on one time, because anyone who knows Lyla knows that dates are her faaaavorite! I know those fun memories will have a lasting impact on Lyla. She is so loved and I am so grateful.

 

In the evening once Kirk was off work, we went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. Lyla was greeted with another gift from Jeremy, Charli, and Hali. The "LOL" dolls could have been the kick-start to Lyla's YouTube career, but instead she revealed their contents on the restaurant table. If you're confused by what I'm even talking about, well then, just carry on. We enjoyed pizza, with the exception of the birthday girl, of course. She does not enjoy pizza, although CPK is her favorite restaurant. Yup, now you even more confused by this paragraph. Oh well. It was a day well spent for Lyla and it makes me so happy to see her happy!

I started this sentence as "it's been so easy being Lyla's mom" and then I erased it because that is definitely not true. Motherhood is often full of doubt, fear, guilt, regret. It is full of love, gratitude, pride, reflection, laughter & so many silly moments. And sometimes all of those emotions wrapped into one at the same time. It's the hardest job I have ever had and sometimes I question who thought it would be a good idea to hire me. But I know in my heart Lyla was meant to be my daughter. She has been my greatest teacher and I am honored to be her mom. Lyla doesn't make it tough being a mom, I do that to myself. She is truly an amazing kid. I would describe her best as thoughtful, compassionate, & determined. And she is so fun! In school, she is eager to learn and so very smart. She is polite and attentive. She was recognized last month in her class for being a good example of responsibility. She has some perfectionist tendencies, but I'm going to try to guide her away from that because perfectionist life is too exhausting. And I may have mentioned this next part in a previous post, I can't remember because it's been so long since I blogged. We had a parent teacher conference and Lyla's teacher told us about a deaf girl in their class who Lyla always makes sure to include with her friends. Her teacher said she feels so relieved about having a student like Lyla in class because she knows nobody will ever feel left out. I left the conference crying and then cried some more as Lyla came home from school day after day excited to show me the new signing words she learned from her friend. Lyla pays close attention to people and acts accordingly. She is accepting and inclusive. Her kindness makes our family stronger, it makes her classroom happier, and the world a better place. Happy Birthday, my Lyla girl. I love you so much!

The Birthday Interviews

Happy Easter Weekend!

This was one of those weekends that I could replay over and over again. I think the fact that it was extended by two extra days for our Easter break may have contributed to the goodness. We spent Friday visiting with a friend and her delicious newborn baby, then returned home to dye some Easter eggs. Lyla seemed to enjoy this project more than Max. She had fun combining different colors and creating designs on her eggs, whereas I probably blinked twice and Max had already dropped his entire pile of eggs into all the color cups. He was unimpressed and ditched us to play outside, however his eggs ended up being the brightest colors since they were left to soak for so long. Nobody likes the taste of hard boiled eggs in our family, but we had fun dissecting them afterward. 

Saturday the kiddos woke up at the crack of dawn, because that's what they always do when we have the day off. Lyla woke up with the idea that she really really needed to go get her haircut, like immediately. She actually started this a few weeks ago when she mentioned that she would really like to cut bangs. This was one of those "smile and nod" moments in parenting with the expectation said child will likely forget about whatever they keep going on and on about.....but Lyla has a natural ability for being extremely persistent. She did not forget and this "I want bangs" conversation continued for about three weeks. So, when she brought it up yet again on Saturday morning, I said "okay fine, let's go!" And off we went on our 9:00 a.m. adventure! Technically they are side swoop bangs because she has a calic, but regardless, we think her new style is fab. The boys left on their own adventure to Home Depot. I was laughing at Max's comment when Kirk told him that's where they were going. He said, "you mean, it's like our home...but it's a depot???" Yes, exactly son. Kirk decided he wanted to make our garage less trailer park-ee, so that was a nice improvement. I decided Kirk is in the "weekend project" phase of life. Max has been quite eager to assist him.

I made lunch for us and then the kiddos played outside for the remainder of Saturday afternoon. And by remainder I actually mean for about five hours. They were mad when I made them come inside at five o'clock. The neighbor kids may drive me nutso sometimes, but I'm also really appreciative of them. Lyla and Max really look forward to play time with their neighbor friends. I want my kids to value the friendships they make in life. It reminds me of a book we read together, "If I could keep you little I would pick for you a friend or two, but then I would miss you choosing friends you like who like you too!" It's a cute one. Anyway, I left later that evening to join some friends at a painting class. I forgot how much fun those classes are!

The Easter bunny visited as we slept that night. We were lucky it didn't rain and he was able to hide some eggs outside for the kids too! It was pretty funny when the kids woke up that morning because they could not find their baskets. We left them on the couch in plain sight, but they were running in circles and probably looked at the baskets five times before Lyla finally noticed hers. Max had this disappointed look on his face as he watched Lyla go through the contents of her basket. His basket was sitting right next to hers!!!!! We watched in disbelief for a few seconds, before we finally motioned Max to his own basket. You have one too little buddy! That morning brain fog is a real struggle. We ate breakfast and then I'm pretty sure the kids consumed 70 pounds of candy while I prepared a couple of dishes to take to Charli's. I do not like all that Easter basket madness, by the way. Who invented hiding plastic eggs with candy in them? I don't like that person. And whyyyyy does Easter basket grass exist? That stuff spreads like wildfire. And why do I even go along with all of it!??!

I took pictures of the kids before we went to Charli's and they were super agreeable to do so for once. I had this genius idea to have a pretend sibling wedding. The kids loved this idea and they were totally all about it. I told my brother this story and he called me "creepy" and "weird" --- typical little brother thing to say. I thought it made for a really exciting photo session! We even had a wedding ceremony, complete with wedding march music and a bouquet for the bride. It turns out I'm a terrible wedding officiant, as the only thing I could come up with for the ceremony was to have them say one thing they love about each other. Max contemplated for awhile and eventually said "booty" as his response to the question. I thought it was hilarious, but apparently that part of the story also contributed to my brother's "creepy" comments. He's entitled to his opinion though. We enjoyed lunch together at Charli and Jeremy's house. The kids got in their mandatory golf cart and Mario Party time. And that concludes our Easter festivities!!!!!!!!!!!!! I slept like a baby on Sunday. 

Silly string...another evil product....yet I continue to buy it like an idiot.

 Her face is PURE JOY!!!!

Peace Out 2016!

I'm finally getting around to blogging about our Christmas. We are currently enjoying the last day of our 17 day break from school and work. It has been very relaxing and it's surprising how quickly I forgot about all the luxuries included in staying at home. Such as, completing all of our laundry in one day and getting all the beds made in the morning! Woohoo! It's been glorious. I really have been able to get the house organized and attend to a lot of other nuisance chores during the break, which sounds boring but overall eases my sanity. The sane version of myself is much more pleasant, for everyone. And I have so much enjoyed all the extra snuggle time with my babies in the morning. We have spent many days just lounging around the house, any boredom easily cured by a tickle fight. We ventured to the movie theater and spent time with friends, including a play date with one of Lyla's favorite classmates. We also enjoyed our annual Gingerbread House tradition with Charli & Hali. Oh, and Max put in some hours (um 1/2 hour) at his new job. Hehe! I'll have to elaborate on that in a separate post.

I feel like our routine with school has kept us so busy over the last few months, this break has given us the chance to slow down and just enjoy each other. I think that's exactly what the holidays are all about for most of us, anyway. However, as Christmas neared closer and closer, I felt myself pushing away this undeniable feeling of sadness. I adore my little family so much and I'm truly grateful for the time we have been able to spend together, but the quiet holidays always make me miss everyone in Idaho a whole bunch. I miss the experience of BIG family gatherings. I honestly love bouncing around on Christmas to various family members houses. I keep reminding myself that life always comes back around full circle and I know eventually we will enjoy a Christmas in Idaho again... I just have to be patient. And patience is not my strong suit. Ha. In the meantime, I have been trying to appreciate all the aspects of small and quiet holidays. I think it's important to soak up every season of life we experience, or at least give it a good effort. Haha! It's tough for me sometimes, but life could always be tougher.

Okay. Anyway, I wanted to share our Christmas morning. Christmas day could possibly be my most favorite day of the year to be a parent. As cliche as it sounds, it is seriously magical. The best day ever. I freaking love being Santa Claus. Max woke first and was not in the most pleasant mood. Keep in mind, he is only three so a lot of this Christmas business doesn't click for him quite yet. He mostly follows Lyla's lead and/or level of enthusiasm. As always, he made his way into our bed by morning and I exclaimed, "Max, it's Christmas!" His grumpy response, "No it's not. It didn't even snow." I giggled to myself, then reminded him about Santa and finally he remembered. I got out of bed to grab Max some fresh clothes, because of course, Christmas morning he had to pee himself. As I was rushing to his room, he made it clear that he wanted to wake up Lyla. "Don't wake her up Mom. I'm going to do it." We got him all situated in dry clothes and then he bolted out of my room. So much for cute Christmas jammies on Christmas morning, right? Oh well. I watched as he ran into the living room to check their stockings, he gasped, then immediately ran to Lyla's room. I could hear him say, "Lyla Lyla, It's Christmastime. Your dolly!!!" They both darted out into the living room faster than you could imagine. Kirk set up the iPad to record their entrance, but the house was still so dark you can't see the image very well. However, you can definitely hear the little pitter patter of their feet running across the house and I loved that just as well.

We opened presents and by the time we finished the living room was complete madness. I'm always slightly disgusted by how spoiled our entire family is between all the gifts that get shipped from our loved ones in Idaho. But we are lucky they love us so much! We remained busy the rest of the day, playing with new toys and games. Lyla's main gift from Santa was an American Girl doll. And Max asked for a Batman Transformer. Apparently Lyla also asked for a black kitten, but Santa didn't get that memo --- and I'm not so sure he would have fulfilled that request anyhow. Ha! Regardless, the kiddos were very pleased with all their new treasures and we had such a fun morning. We enjoyed french toast for breakfast and set up our new Alexa speaker from Grandma Paula. I only mention this gift because I was cracking up when Lyla asked Alexa to get her a glass of water. She was so impressed with all of Alexa's other abilities, I guess she figured a glass of water shouldn't be too difficult for her to manage. Spoiler: Alexa was unable to fulfill Lyla's request, but luckily Lyla was born with these amazing things called legs.

Later in the afternoon we headed over to Charli & Jeremy's for a delicious meal and more gift opening chaos. Hali received a new trampoline for Christmas and the kids are obsessed with it. I felt tired just watching them. However, it really did the trick to drain their batteries, particularly Max. That boy is an energizer bunny all day long. We had a fun day and I'm grateful to Charli & Jeremy for always inviting us over for Christmas. I think it's obvious I am very devoted to my role as Santa, so my enthusiasm for cooking on Christmas has really been lacking the past few years. Sooo if it weren't for the awesome Stout family, we most likely would have ate..........boxed mac and cheese. Phew! I'm glad we dodged that bullet and were treated to amazing-melt-in-your-mouth ham instead. Plus, I can always count on them for one Christmas Day adventure, and being at their house helps with that irritating "lack of togetherness on Christmas" feeling that's been floating around for me this season. I know, you're sick of me whining. Perhaps I should call the waaaambulance. Is that joke still cool? Idk.

SO! TOMORROW is my baby girl's birthday. Did I mention she is going to be FIVE??!?! Someone pinch me. I know I'm going to be blogging about all that, so I returned to Slackerville to get this Christmas post wrapped up. As for wrapping it up, I don't have many complaints about 2016. It was decent. We are all still here, breathing and whatnot. I am feeling even more hopeful and optimistic about what's to come for 2017. I can still remember a time when I thought the year 2017 seemed so far out of reach, yet here we are. It is the future! I'm looking forward to more adventure, laughter, and LOVE.

Please enjoy these photos that I sloppily attached to this post............................you can mail your complaints to Slackerville, USA.

That one time Lyla wanted "just onion rings" for dinner.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR. HAHAHA

I asked them to yell "SANTA"

BLESS THIS MESS?

Sorry Tay Tay, I have a new personal make-up artist now. 

Turkey Day

Hi friends! We had a lovely Thanksgiving. My dad, Shelby, and Jake were our featured guests this year. The kids and myself had a full week off from school and Kirk decided to take the rest of his available vacation days as well. It was a lot of fun and I'm grateful for the quality time we were able to spend together. My turkey received his usual special treatment and turned out wonderfully. I had a lot of help preparing the rest of the meal from two wonderful chefs, namely Charli & Olivia, which made it a pretty stress-free week for me. It's hard to believe we are already into December. I haven't started any shopping yet and honestly I'm lacking any motivation to even get started. We are going to decorate our Christmas tree this weekend, so I'm hoping that helps me rediscover my typical overjoyed attitude about Christmas and all its magic. This is a pathetic blog post, but I mostly wanted to share our Thanksgiving pictures. I'll try to add some descriptive captions because I know all my amazing and dedicated fans are deeply saddened by my lack of eloquence. 




This little turkey had a Thanksgiving performance at school and was surprised to find out she had quite a few of her people watching from the audience. It's so convenient that her best buddy, BYA, works at her school. Plus, she had Aunt Taylor & Uncle Jordan in the audience to not only watch her perform but also join her for lunch afterward. They spent some time with Max in his classroom too and it made him feel pretty special. Max's teacher thought it was pretty cool of Uncle Jordan to participate in the silly dancing and to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce during story time. This day acted as a "final farewell" of sorts for the kiddos to Taylor and Jordan before they moved back to Idaho and I felt like my heart was shattering the entire day over it. We are going to miss them so much! They are the best aunt and uncle, it's no question they are going to be amazing parents.

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This is one of the notes clipped to our gratitude tree I started a few years ago. It is my favorite one of 2016 and it belongs to Lyla. This was her first note of gratitude created all on her very own. I didn't have to prompt any ideas for her. She made it by herself, only requiring help with spelling. It says "mom making lunch" and it made my heart happy that she is really understanding the concept of being grateful....because there are definitely some days I question if anything I'm doing will prevent my kids from being asshole adults. Ha! Also, how awesome is she doing with her penmanship? I'm proud of my little smartie pants.

This is Max's super cool hair cut. He went with Kirk right before our family photos so they would be looking fresh. Also, a sneak peak of Lyla. I wish I could share the rest, but you must wait. 

Uncle Jake creating his masterpiece Thanksgiving appetizer. I enjoy watching his methodical cooking methods. And my dad enjoying his LATE Thanksgiving feast. Sadly, this is the only picture I shot of him or Shelby during their visit. FAIL.

TWINS! Max attempting to match Jake was hilarious to me.

Thanksgiving Day Feast, along with photos I force my people to be in.

We also visited the Renaissance Festival. I was laughing because we haven't been to this festival since the last time my dad visited Texas. I like to tease him about this activity being his idea, but truly I find the whole event to be fascinating. I feel like it's a lifestyle I could really dive into if I wasn't already committed to this family thing. Hahaha! At least Max agrees with me, just look at him go to town on that steak on a stick.