My babies are getting big!

My babies aren't babies anymore.  We no longer have diapers.  When I leave the house, I don't have to bring sippy cups or bibs.
And then a few weeks ago, my little girl tells me that her tooth is loose.  I don't believe her at first because she is way to young to be losing teeth.  It took her 10 months to even get one.  And I wasn't quite ready.  Even though she has been ready for over a year now since her big cousin started losing teeth and she found this cute little tooth fairy pillow.  So for these reasons I thought there is no way.  But I confirmed that not only was one loose.  But two.  And I cried.
A few weeks later while brushing her teeth I realized that it was barely hanging on.  After a whole let of drama, she allowed her daddy to help her pull it.  And she was so excited.  So excited that she had her Daddy pull the second one.  At the dinner table.  Only 3 days later.
I mentioned that I was in denial of this losing teeth business.  And that I wasn't quite ready.  Literally.  The tooth fairy had to leave a ten dollar bill because that was the smallest denomination that 4 adults had in the house.  We told Rhiannon that the tooth fairy brings more money for the first tooth.  We were more prepared for the second.

After tooth #2, Jan 27, 2013

First picture of those sweet little teeth.

That night as Russ and I examined that tiny little tooth, we remember when she first got it.  It seemed like yesterday.  And while we we talking about how time goes by too fast, we realize that her younger brother got out of bed, used the potty, washed his hands, and then ran and jumped in bed with his sister so that SHE could finish reading him a story.

February 2010, Rhiannon meets Henry for the first time

I don't know where my babies have gone.  Because I still think they are this big.

Crains on the Move

I mentioned how infrequent I have been in my blogging.  It's been a very busy few months.  To catch you up on our "project."

We have always had intentions on building a house.  My parents live in a subdivision that my stepfather developed about 25 years ago.  Before it was a subdivision it was our family farm.  My parents picked out their lot, the only lake lot in the subdivision, and built there house about 20 years ago.  They sold the other lots over the years except for 4 that they saved for each of us kids.  I have always known which one I wanted.  The lot right beside my parents that has these beautiful old stately oaks in the front yard and a gorgeous view of the creek below surrounded by mountain laurels like you were deep in the North GA mountains.

Last March we started working towards this goal by meeting with builders.  A year later, we finalized a house plan and a builder and were ready to get going.  We had tried to sell our current home but decided that we didn't want to pay someone to buy it.  So, in the end we decided to rent it.  My parents were nice enough to allow us to live in the top floor of their house so that we could save some $ while we were building and be next to the construction.  We are packed in pretty tight.  My mother, well, she likes clothes.  So after all her kids moved out, she took over every, single, walk-in closet in the entire house.  So this is a picture of the other side of my and Russ' bedroom.

I should explain the living arrangements.  Russ and I have a bedroom and our own bath.  The kids are sharing a room.  Which has worked out quite nicely.  We packed up Henry's crib and he is sleeping on a daybed and Rhiannon has her own big bed.  Henry is loud but Rhiannon sleeps like a rock.  I think they may miss sharing a bedroom once we get in our new place.  They have their own bath.  The other bedroom we turned into a living room/playroom.  It's a nice set up.  We help pay utilities and we buy groceries and cook dinner.  Oh, when I say "we" cook dinner.  "We" = Russ.  :)  This summer we had the pool in our backyard and the kids have loved living with their grandparents.  But by February, we will hopefully be out of here.  And that will be nice too.  Although, I think maybe my parents have gotten used to Russ' cooking so we may be setting two extra plates at dinner.

Some construction pics:

We were really excited about the sign!

Rhi was excited about her boots.  

Foundation

Upstairs.  

Henry doing a drive by.

We have a roof!

Rhi says we have it all "wrapped up".  

One of our trails.  

Down at the creek.  Taken during a picnic!

And some pictures of our "backyard".  My favorite.


As of today, the roof is now finished.  The windows and exterior doors are in place.  The electric and plumbing are almost complete.  Hardy plank is being put on now and brick will be next.

I will keep you updated with pictures.

I'm out.  I still have no idea where my winter coats are. . .

Funny Things from My Mama's Boy

I'm going to ease back into this blogging thing.  I have thought of many things that I wanted to remember.  And that was the main reason for this blog:  to document the lives of our family.  Things in our family got a little crazy over the last few months.  And when I picked up Henry's journal, I realized that it's been a for real long time.  So I'm going blog a little a time.  Even if it's small.  So that I don't forget.

More on why our life is crazy later.  Today I want to blog about the funny things that come out of my two year old's mouth.

Henry is a Mama's Boy.  No joking.  No exaggerating.  I call him my tick because if possible, he would be attached to me at all times.  I'm not complaining.  I love it.  But there comes some funny moments.

That kid is a talker.  Rhiannon is having a bit of trouble (understatement of the year here) adjusting to Kindergarten because she talks too much.  At the last parent teacher conference we were happy to learn that she is improving.  And we took that opportunity to warn the staff:   if you think she talks too much, wait to you meet her little brother.  Let's just say that on our 8 hour trip to the beach, our Henry chatterbox NEVER stopped talking.  Rhiannon will sleep or watch a movie and will rest her mouth for a minute.  Not Henry.  Geez.

He's full time in underwear now.  Potty training him was so easy.  Shockingly easy.  But I think God thought he would let one thing about my dear Henry be easy because He knew he has not been the easiest child.  But Henry wants me to watch him potty.  Like sit there with him.  And talk to him.  While he is doing all his business.  I tried to send him with his Daddy a few nights ago.  Henry screamed:  "No!  I want Mommy to watch me pee pee!!"  Russ replied with "Ok Buddy.  That's a little weird but I'll go get her."  Thanks Daddy.

We were at lunch with the Crains this weekend at TGI Friday's.  The server came up and before he could introduce himself, Henry told him "I'm Henry.  I'm a big boy.  I want pizza to eat.  This is my Mommy.  She wants a hamburger."  My ladies man.  Already taking charge and ordering for his lady.  Thanks sweet boy but there are 4 other people at the table.  The waiter then laughed and asked him what he wanted to drink.  Henry replied.  "I'll take a beer."  I tried to divert the situation by moving on to Rhiannon.  Unfortunately, she told the server she wanted a beer too.  I covered my face with my hands and accepted my Mother of the Year award.

Henry thinks that I belong to him and that Russ belongs to Rhiannon.  Which can sound strange when he tells everyone at dinner "No Rhi Rhi!  Russ is YOUR daddy."  Henry honey, he is your Daddy too.

But there are sweet moments.  Like when I asked him if he remembered Disney World from last fall.  And I asked him what was his favorite thing about Disney, and he responded "You Mommy."  Or when he woke up from his nap and came to find me and told me that I was his "best, best, friend."

And I'm not the only lady in life that kisses and babies him all the time.  There are the grandmothers.  And his teacher.  Henry goes to preschool 2 days a week.  This morning, his teacher, Mrs. Suzanne came and got him out of the car.  He flashed her this really big grin as she greeted him.  Then she carried him all the way in the building, kissing all over him the whole time.  Now when Rhiannon started school at 2 1/2, she walked in the building like she owned the place.  Apparently Henry is carried.  He's irresistible I guess.

You are one sweet kid Henry Russell.  And you may be a Mommy's Boy but this Mommy will take it.  And you can live me until you are 85.  For real.

Love,
Your Mommy

A trip to the zoo

We took the kids to the zoo.

I wonder if we should have left them there. . .

.

We went in November.

Yes. I know it's March.

Baby steps ok?

Anyways. . . the zoo.

Our local library offered this great deal that my buddy Michele told me about. You go and watch a 30 minute video about the history of Zoo Atlanta at the library and then you get 4 free tickets. Yes! I dig free. And I dig the zoo. Rhiannon digs maps.

I especially dig the pandas!

And the parakeet exhibit.

And this baby monkey.

And this monkey. They

tried to keep him.

Henry loved "Dum Bum".

We learned that this DumBum is full of _____.

I love this guy. Hello Handsome. How you doin?

The kids loved statues?

We had a blast. A nice little educational trip. With our two little crazy animals.

Helton Creek Falls

MLK weekend. A 3 day, LONG weekend. We have been

crazy busy the last few, well months! With holidays and Russ' brothers wedding on NYE, we were ready for some down time. Russ and I went out with friends on Saturday night and Henry and Rhiannon spent the night with the Crains. Russ' mother has been sick since August and this was the first time that the kids have spent the night with them in months. After breakfast with the Crains we whisked the kids away for a day trip to the mountains. We like to call it "Crains on Tour."

We headed north to Helton Creek Falls. This is a waterfall that is a favorite of mine and Russ'. We also took the kids almost 2 years ago when Henry was a little over a month old.

Our trip almost 2 years ago

I got home and downloaded pictures and just couldn't resist posting comparisons. How did 2 years go by so fast? Last trip I had a infant strapped to my chest and a 2 year old that had some trouble hiking the trail. This trip we had a 4 year old hiker and another 2 year old to help along the trail.

So here is the game:

Me and HRC this year:

Me and Henry 2 years ago!

Rhiannon James in 2012

Rhiannon James in 2010

Daddy and his little hiker this year

Daddy and RJ on her first hike

Family of 4 this year

Family of 4 last trip

We had so much fun. The kids loved seeing the falls and talking about the trees and picking up rocks and driving through the mountains.

And of course ended the day with lunch at our favorite Creekside deli in Cleveland and then home for naps.

Henry didn't stop talking the entire trip. He jabbered from the minute we pulled out of the Crains driveway until he fell asleep that afternoon. I thought Rhiannon talked a lot. Henry is giving her some serious competition. "Mommy look!" Mommy! What's that?" "School bus!" "Tractor!" "Woah! Mountains!" He kept me and Russ giggling.

Our cute little chatter box.

A beach trip

So let me start out this post by explaining that I'm stuck at an airport in San Francisco. I've been in San Jose this week for business. And then I tried to fly out of San Jose. But my flight was delayed. Causing me to be late for my connecting flight and the only flight I could get to Atlanta would be out of San Fran. So they shuttled me here and I'm waiting 6 hours for my red eye flight to Atlanta to get me back in GA at 5:48am. But I PROMISED my curly headed girl that I would be home on Saturday morning. And I gave her a calendar to mark off the days until Mama would be home. And by God I WILL keep that promise. Even if it means catching an all night flight to do so. Baby girl, I will see you when you wake in the morning.

I'm now two mojitos into my wait for my flight. And I've been nastalgic. Looking at pictures of my babies. And I thought this would be a good time to update that blog that I'm supposed to be keeping up with. Because I found this picture. So sweet. My Rhiannon and her best friend in the whole world. Her cousin Lawson. Boy do they love one another.

So here it goes.

In July we went on our family trip to the beach. I finally convinced my parents, the funders of this trip, that it would be better to go the Gulf this year. Versus our normal vacay spot of Myrtle Beach. I used a house that my girlfriends have stayed at in the past as ammunition to convince them.

I was excited too because Henry was only 4 months old on our trip last year. And he couldn't sit on his own yet. So I had to carry him around all week in a baby sling. And he cried ALL the time. This year, I thought foolishly, would be better. He can walk and run and swim and play in the sand. Right? Nope. My boy was teething. Apparently getting 1,000,000 molars at one time. And home boy was not handling it well. And then midway through the trip he came down with his sisters case of croup. So they were both struggling with roid rage from the steroids used to treat croup. And Henry again cried all week. But this year he also cried all night. When he was a 4 month old, he at least slept some.

Let's put it this way. I looked forward to my morning runs. And I DO NOT like to run. But it was a time that I suddenly felt 25 lbs lighter. And I didn't feel like throwing a baby out the window.

Just kidding. Sort of.

Not to dwell on the negatives but the ocean was full of seaweed. It was like standing in brunswick stew. Another reason why my parents have never wanted to go the Gulf. I convinced them by telling them that I've been going to the Gulf for years and have never had bad seaweed. Ha ha ha.

However, at the end of our road was a freshwater lake. That never got more than 3 feet deep. It was kid haven. And Rhiannon and my niece, Lawson, loved it. We saw a complete transformation in Rhiannon. She went from refusing to get her face wet to wearing goggles and swimming under water, in a 24 hour time period. So that was pretty cool.

My mental picture of Henry for the week.

He was happy as long as we was here. In someone's lap. It didn't matter who. Me. Aunt Katie. Whatevas. See the lake behind us?

The kiddos. Doesn't Henry look happy?

My babies. Again. Henry. Bless him.

My little beach bunny.

And the whole family.

We might try again next year. I'm making no promises though. . . :)

We really did have a good time. Big thanks to my parents to taking us all on this trip. And the rest of my family for putting up with me and my rugrats. There is one thing for certain. I am so blessed for my family. There is no where I would rather be than with my family. My brothers and sister and sister-in-law and mother and step-dad and out of this world neice. Combined with little family it just rocks. No matter the situation. We just have fun. I love you guys.

Oh yeah. My blog!

So for those of you who may have missed my updates. And for the sake of archiving our memories. I'm back. My d*&n laptop died again. So I have been unable to download or edit photos but now I'm back. And I'm going to attempt to update you from the summer.

But today we're going to start with just a general update. I'll update with pictures from events afterwards.

Rhiannon turned 4!! Four? Doesn't that sound old to you? It sounds old to me. And she started Pre-K! I can't handle it. That sounds big too. And it was a big decision for Mommy. First of all I was unsure if I should start her in Pre-K yet. Her birthday is July 24 which is a late birthday for that grade level. And since her birthday should have been in October, I wondered whether I should start her the next school year and keep her in preschool another year. But in the we decided that Pre-K was fine. And if she needed to wait for Kindergarten then she could just do 2 years of Pre-K. And the other big decision was whether she should continue going 3 days of move to 5 days. I thought the structure was better with 5 days. And it was only half days. But I worried about Henry missing her. And I knew the grandparents would too. So I asked her and she said she wanted to go everyday. So that's what we did. And it seems to be going just great. She loves her teacher Mrs Michelle. And her two BFF's Madyson and Madilyn are in her class again so the fab 3 are owning the halls of Grace this year.

Henry is 18 months old. At his 18 month appt we found out that he in the 50% for weight and 65% for height. Head of course in the 95% (both my kids were "blessed" with Mama's big head). I looked back and discovered that his preemie sister was actually an inch taller than him at 18 months!! So we think that he may have inherited his Daddy's height. Ha ha.

Henry is talking up a storm. He follows instructions much better than his sister. His favorite book is Good Night Moon. His favorite songs are very interesting. The most requested two: Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas. Which he sings and knows the words to. Or "Jesus, Jesus" a gospel song by Alan Jackson. We like to mix it up around here. He loves soy milk, peanut butter, M&Ms, blueberries, and most of all cherry tomatoes. He eats then straight from the vine. When I pick him up at my mother's house, his shirts are usually covered in tomoato seeds.

Two recent pictures of my babies. . .