Sum, Sum, Summertime

Brooke is now 4 months old. She will be 5 months old on Sunday. So, yes she is still 4 months old. She will still be 4 months old on Saturday. All the way up until 11:09 on Sunday morning. I wish I could make each day longer and slow time. I'm just loving my lil' baby and she is growing right before my very eyes.

Will is such a great boy. He has really been enjoying the backyard. His favorite toy is the water hose. He is also quite the runner. He loves to run, run, run around our house nonstop. I don't know where he gets all that energy!!!! I laugh the whole time while he is running because I think his 3 year old legs are just so cute. I tell him he is cute and he says,

"No Mom, I'm not cute, I'm fast."

Will got to eat a 4th of July doughnut. I couldn't resist it and I knew it would make his day extra special. I think he ran extra fast that day. Wonder why????

Mommy's Day II

Silly fun times with Mom and Mema!

Both of our families celebrated our moms together.

Brooke loves to take a bath with big bro. Notice Pablo at the bottom of the picture. Will is real into Backyardigans. They are so cute. We like to dance with them!

Mommy's Day I

Flowers from my little flowers!!!! Yes, I'm kinda tired.

Yum-O. . "Chokate" cake!

I wore this coming home from the hospital 30 years ago! My mom saved it for my little girl and here she is!!!!

Tony rubbing my feet on Mother's Day. I often sit in between my pumpkins. Will hated his carseat when he was iddy biddy. Brooke hates it almost as much as he did.

Way too late to be blogging

It's 1:27 a.m. and I should be in BED! Tony, Will, and Brooke are sawing logs and I'm just having a great ol' time reading every one's blogs!

Things that have been on my mind and heart:

Brooke is just plain sweet! She is growing and cooing and doing all the cute things that makes me want 6 or 7 more babies!!!

Will told me that his toys are just the right size tonight. I love his perspective!

Tony took Will Mother's Day shopping on Saturday. Will came busting through the backdoor shouting, "Happy Mother's Day!!!!" He had the cutest smile on his 3 year old face!!!! He handed me an In Style magazine and a big piece of chocolate cake. Then, husband came in the door with this awesome bouquet of flowers. (That Will picked out!) I felt so very special!!!!

Growing closer to Christ. I told Tony after church tonight I desire to be a happier Christian. I want to follow Him DAILY and know his will DAILY. . . not just every now and then. I do feel his presence and I know he is working on me.

I'm mad about House last night. It was a show about intense medical mysteries. Last night they completely made it so very trashy. Now, it's like CSI. . .I just can't stomach it. I guess I will just start TIVOing Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers and watching it when the kids go to bed because that is the only thing worth watching. I miss The Cosby Show. Where are shows like that??? If I had all the money in the world I would start a Christian television production company with great dramas and comedies that you could actually enjoy.

So, I'm nursing Brookadee and potty-training Willstonian. His doc said no more diapers. He gave us a great plan and it's working. However, I was just so afraid of climbing that mountain (full of you know what!). So, I prayed that God give me the strength to tend to Brooke's newborn needs and tend to Will's stinky hiney. God answered my prayer and has given me strength to do both.
It's not the picture of organization around here. . . but it's getting done!

So excited about our new preacher, Randy and his wife, Andrea. Oh yes, and their sweet four kiddos! They bring so much sunshine to our church! Andrea has a nifty blog listed on my contacts or whatever you call that list. She is a really good writer. Read it when you get a chance!

Did you know Blog is short for Web log???

Did you know that honey bees have more brain cells than other bees in the hive??? This is because they spend their time exploring and venturing out into the world. I'm reading this super cool book (a tiny bit at a time) called Magic Trees of the Mind. It's about brain development and ways we can encourage our children to be intelligent. While I was prego with Will I asked my principal about any books he could recommend over child development. He said Magic Trees was the only one that counted. Anyway. . . I feel like I'm back in one of my linguistic courses. It's challenging and I'm enjoying it.

Now it's almost 2:00 a.m. and I think I'm growing a bit sleepy. . . Good night computer. OK Computer. . .Radiohead joke.

Dallas Mavs?

So, I started becoming a Mavs fan about 5 years ago. I can't say I'm on of those fans that watch EVERY game. . . I just like 'em. Up until 4 days ago I had a poster of Dirk, Howard, and Jet Terry hanging on our kitchen door. I got VERY upset at goofy Josh Howard talking on ESPN about his fun times with Marijuana. Great. Thanks for the example you are setting Howard!
I'm also upset that Avery is gone. I like his charisma and drive. I will miss seeing his enthusiasm on the sidelines. Oh Well.
Will was watching one of the playoff games with us and he asked when football is coming.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Tony loves football. It's a funny thing. We start stinking at football and this house gets excited about Mavs season. We start stinking at basketball and we get excited about Cowboys playing in the Fall!
So, I'm once again a little sad for the Dallas Mavs. Hopefully, next season will be amazing. (Steve Nash come back!)

Time flies when you're having. . .

Fun!!!!!!!

Laundry Explosion

It just occured to me as I was giving Brooke a bath tonight that the actual stages of laundry completion have been avoided for 8 weeks. I will wash the many piles, place them in clean piles, and search through the rather large piles for the day's clothes. College revisited. My room mates in college used to make fun of me for this very thing.

I asked Tony to get me a washcloth for Brooke's cute little bottom. He searched where it should be and it wasn't there. Oops. "Where's a clean washcloth, Holly?" "Ummmm go check down the hall, on the guest bed, next to Brooke's diaper basket. Under the very top pile."
Yes, Tony had to go on a scavenger hunt for the thing! Where's Washcloth?

All of this silliness to say that being a mom of two has been great and very challenging! When Will was a baby, I sat down quietly to nurse and enjoyed Food Network. Now, while Brooke is nursing I make pretend Thomas the Tank voices. Will pretends that he is Thomas and I'm Molly. It goes something like this:

Thomas: Hi Molly
Molly: Hi Thomas, Do you like being Will's toy???
Thomas: Yeah. Will you play with me?
Molly: Yes! Let's go in the gold mine and play!
(Will moves Thomas over to the gold mine and makes Thomas laugh)
(Brooke is getting fussy because she needs to burp.)
Will: Mom, stop nursing Brooke. Will you talk to ME?
Holly: Yes, I will talk to you. However, your sis needs her milk so she can grow.
(Back to the RR set)
Hey Thomas the Tank, let's go Choo choo!
Thomas: I'm going to crash into Cranky the Crank!
Molly: Oh no! Don't crash!
(Will precedes to crash into Cranky)

So on and so on!

Brooke is smiling several times a day. It's a huge event! We all gather around her to watch her sweet little mouth form a grin! Yesterday Will said, "Mom! Brooke is smiling!"
"Yes she is, honey!"
"I can smile too!"

Will is smitten with her. He calls Brooke baby sis. Love it! He is VERY proud and protective of her already. I love watching his unguarded heart. What a lesson in love. He willfully and happily embraces his sister each day. Maybe that is why God tells us to be like little children. Completely trusting. Vulnerable. Silly. Impressionable. Teachable. Approachable. Joyful.

I'm going to sign off with that last thought. . . .nighty night. Gotta dream of folding clothes because it might actually happen then.