A tale of two siblings

Disney World!

2010-10-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Disney World. As a parent these two small words can either conjure thoughts of magic and wonder, or start you hyperventilating with the onset of a panic attack. Funnily enough for my kids they have a parent on both sides of the spectrum. To me the thought of heading to Disney is pure elation. The world breaks into song ad the animals are dancing to the rhythm while I twirl in a magical ball gown amidst showers of glitter and stars and pixie dust...Oh, ahem, sorry for falling down the rabbit hole there! :) For my Husband it is more about ridiculous lines and crowds and waiting and frustration not to mention the fact that everything is incredibly over priced (in general he is not one to fret about pricing, but come on, a buffet meal for 4 that costs over $100? Ridiculous.). I don't know how I finally did it, but I convinced him that a trip to Disney would be the absolute perfect vacation this year. The "magical thinking" window is quickly closing for Ameryn and Rogan is totally in love with Toy Story at the moment. He agreed to try 3 days at the parks and I was hitting the Internet trying to plan everything out. Have you ever tried to plan a Disney vacation? Let me just tell you, nightmare. There are like 448,687,2048 different options to look at and you want to make sure that you get to do just enough to be fun, but not so much that the trip is exhausting. Luckily, we were given the name of this awesome lady who calls herself "Dizney Donna." She was an absolute Godsend and was able to do everything to get us ready to go. She even booked us character dining for each day we were there. I was afraid that we would be unable to do this since all of the travel books say that you need to book character dining (especially princess dining, which was a must) 6 months in advance. We started planning a month before the trip. Yeah. We were booked and ready to go in no time. We stayed in the All Star Movies resort in the Toy Story area. Rogan was in awe of the giant Woody and Buzz statues! It was nice that R.C. was right in front of our room and they could play in him.

Let me let the pictures do the talking for awhile... She was so excited to get to meet the princesses!

Her very favorite is Aurora, and she loved the fact they were matching.

Overall the trip was a huge success. No lines, getting to experience the magic and wonder of Disney from a whole new perspective, hearing my night terror child laughing in his sleep, and seeing him cry because he was going to miss all of his new "friends," getting to ride Space Mountain and the "yeti" over and over with my little dare devil, and best of all, hearing my husband saying that he had fun after all and would like to go back!

Planes, Trains, and Four Dancing Men

2010-04-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Let me start this post with a little fun fact :) . Before I had kids I worked in a daycare. The kids would occasionally come in with a video that they wanted to share with the class. That was how I was first introduced to The Wiggles, Bob the Builder, and such. I had seen other kids shows before, such as Barney and Thomas and Friends, and I was never that impressed. Barney was just down right annoying with the children's extreme overacting and songs about everything from using your inside voice to the different kinds of bread there are. I was not too impressed with Thomas and Friends, Bob the Builder ...eh, and the Wiggles? The songs were catchy, but a bunch of grown men doing the "Shaky Shaky?" Seems a little off to me. I knew that I would never be playing these programs in my house! I would have to search out some Care Bears and Rainbow Bright before my kids came along. Then my sweet girl entered the world. Entered the world with an affinity for The Wiggles. I don't know how or when she saw them for the first time, but once she did it was over. She would jump up and dance like crazy whenever she heard them. And you know what? That was OK with me! Just to watch her having so much fun dancing along to the beat, singing every lyric, was enough to have me hooked on them as well. Looking back on it, I was a little harsh on Greg, Murray, Anthony, and Jeff. They must be some pretty smart guys. With their bright clothing, silly songs, and lovable friends they were sure to be a hit with little kids. And boy are they with mine! With Rogan came the world of Thomas and Friends on the little island of Sodor. He loves them so much that I don't mind the fact that I can name every engine, or the fact that we have a CD of some rockin railway tunes that we listen to in the car (yes, I can sing all of the songs, and the kids and I sing them in English accents). Chris built Rogan his very own "Sodor" for his bedroom that Rogan plays with every day. I am not annoyed with kids shows anymore, in fact I kind of like them now. We are finally at the stage where Disney movies are becoming a hit. Rogan and I had to play "Princess and the Frog" for weeks after we went to see it. I got to be the princess and he would give me a kiss. It was a pretty fun game :) . I can sing along to just about every Disney song ever released (OK, I could do that before, but now I have an excuse) and love it when Ameryn and I are belting out "He's a Tramp" at the top of our lungs. It is funny how your perspective changes as a parent. If something makes my child happy, I am happy too. I just had to learn how to look at things. Before I was looking at them as an adult who couldn't really get past the goofiness of some programs. Now I am looking at them through the eyes of a child, my child, and I love what I see.

Here We Go Again...

2010-03-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

Here we go again...potty training. I potty trained Rogan directly after he turned two. We had a rough few days, where I seriously considered letting go back to diapers for life, but then things got better and better each day! He is completely trained during the day, but let that boy go to sleep and all bets are off. I have been waiting and waiting for his little body to show me that he is ready to attempt nap and night training, but he is still waking up with a wet pull up! he will be three in two months, so Chris and I have decided to just go ahead and try it. We will have to restrict drinks a few hours before bed and set the alarm so we can take him in the middle of the night. I know that things might get a little messy, but I hope that his body will respond well to this and start waking up on its own! If you have any tips, or have been through something similar let me know! :)

Wish him (and me:) luck!

Best Friends

2010-03-09T07:20:00.001-08:00

Ameryn and Kaley, they are so many things! Let me show you what just a few of them are!
They are first make overs, drama and all! They are adventurers in freshly fallen leaves. Watch out for the natives!They are fashion models. They are "pick me up, and then I will pick you up!"They are first slumber parties,
and silly faces.
They are "Let's have fun with the kids," and "Take a picture of this!" But more than anything else, they are Best Friends!!

Boys Will Be Boys

2010-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Awww...Look at that sweet little man-child!

But don't let those beautiful blue eyes fool you, he is a wild man at heart! For this boy asking him for a "smacker" (which to Ameryn means a sweet kiss) will get you a smack in the face! This is the boy who while I was changing him out of his pajamas got the two play nails he was holding stuck in his shirt and cried out "Oh, No! My weapons!" This is also the little man who loves to pee in unusual places (excuse my bluntness). Once while we were in a park where the bathrooms were locked we had no choice but to let him use what was available to him. In this case it was a nice secluded tree. To him that has apparently made all trees within the realm of "OK places to pee" because he recently used a couple of trees on Sodor to relieve himself instead of having to stop playing to use the toilet!
Do you see the two trees by the helipad on the right? Yeah, those are the ones. But what can I say, boys will be boys, and I love mine to death!

Holiday Flashback II

2010-01-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas was so fun this year! This was Rogan's first year to really understand what was going on, and the first year that he did not burst into tears on Santa's lap. They were both really into the lights and decorations, and we are lucky enough to live directly across the street from some of the most exuberant decorators ever! Chris worked really hard on Rogan's gift this year. He made him "Sodor", the Island where Thomas the train lives. He made it to where it can be easily lifted off of the train table so that Rogan still has a place to play cars when the mood hits him :) . Ameryn got a beautiful Lee Middleton doll, whom she named "Alice." We spent Christmas eve with Chris' side of the family. Rogan was very excited at the sight of all the gifts around the tree! Ameryn was so happy to get to show off her Christmas dress (that she bought with her own money:).

I was able to sneak some good shots of Sonny, Chris' Grandfather on his Dad's side.

"Pease can I open pwesents Kay?"

That's a heavy one!

Ameryn loves jewelry!

Uncle John is helping her out with her Barbie :)

Pop and Sonny (Pop is Chris' Mom's Dad).

Rogan was so worn out that he fell asleep on the way home. And stayed asleep through getting him out of the car, into the house,...

and getting his jammies on! Ameryn set out brownies (that's how we roll) and milk for Santa, and some carrots for the reindeer before jumping into bed. While visions of sugar plums danced in there heads,

Santa dropped by and left them some great things!

Their favorites; however, came from Chris and me!

This is Ameryn's Lee Middleton doll she named "Alice,"

and here is Rogan's awesome "Island of Sodor"
complete with a sound board for real train noises and Sodor theme songs! Altogether we had such a wonderful Christmas this year, full of friends, family, and fun! I hope that your Christmas was as great as ours was!

Holiday Flashback

2010-01-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving. All are taken with my Christmas present from my Hubby :)

Playing outside at my parents house.

Amy's picture face.

Having fun with Papa.

Daniel being awesome.

Amy and brent love the camera.
Is this David being goofy, or just the "Henderson picture smile?"

Awwwww Freak Out!

2010-01-11T07:03:00.000-08:00

The other day Ameryn and her best friend got to play with Ameryn's Christmas makeup in her room. She got a cute princess vanity table from her Mimi and Papa for Christmas, and they loved giving each other makeovers. They would come out and show me their creations every few minutes, each time getting wilder and wilder with their results. When they decided to put on full "clown makeup" I told them that they better head into the bathroom to wash it off before it stained their faces. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say to Ameryn, because when she started to wipe her face with a baby wipe, the makeup smeared all over her face and neck and did not appear to be coming off at all! So so went completely into hysterics thinking that her face was doomed to be brick red for the rest of her life. Normally, I do not encourage such ridiculous displays of hysteria, but it was just so funny that I could not help getting out the camera and snapping a few pictures of the meltdown.

I hope you have enjoyed these as much as I have :) . Oh, and there was no permanent facial staining, it came off easily enough with a little bit of make up remover!

Rockin On The Railway

2009-12-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Chris and I took the kids to ride on the North Pole Express! It is a yearly ride on antique train cars (made in the fourties and fifties) With hot chocolate, "The Night Before Christmas" and a visit from Santa and his Elves! Chris discovered the Tennessee Central Railway Museum when he and Rogan went out for the day by themselves. Chris was trying to find a place that Rogan could look at the trains around Nashville and this little gem popped up on the GPS. It is a tiny museum, but the inside of the building is not really the attraction here. It is the working railway that the own and give rides on all year long! They do everything from murder mystery rides, to fall and spring foliage viewing, They give exclusive rides to home schooling groups, "Thomas the Train" even comes to visit in September! We knew that we had to get tickets to ride the North Pole Express, being that Rogan is so fascinated by all things train right now. He was so excited Friday night that it took him forever to fall asleep! We got there about thirty minutes before boarding time, so Ameryn and Rogan had time to check out all of the model trains they had in the waiting room.

Rogan was not to happy that I made him stop for a photo op with Santa's elves :)

Oooh, look at the trains!

See the bridge Mommy?

Here comes Santa Claus!

Is he still there?

They had such a good time, and Rogan is still tells people that he got to ride a train! I can definitely see this becoming a tradition for us. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Fall Creek Falls

2009-11-25T11:12:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago we had some beautiful upper 60's lower 70's degree weather. So what did the Bates household do? Took a day trip to Fall Creek Falls! We didn't realize that it was a two hour drive when we set out, but we went with it:) . It is such a beautiful place and the kids loved all of the waterfalls, not to mention getting to stand on the edge of cliffs. I was surprisingly not overly fearful of them tumbling down into the abyss ( which may have to do with the iron grip I had on them), and only almost had a panic attack while walking across the suspension bridge. Not because I was afraid of falling, but because I kept having flashbacks of a very scary incident at Wonder Works Emporium (in Gatlinburg). I will just say that it had to do with Rogan, an inversion tunnel, and a shoe. Anyway, here are some pictures of our adventure!

Leave it to beaver :)

Rogan is really excited in this one!

The scary swinging bridge.

He loves his sister!

Ameryn Says the Dampedest Things

2009-11-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Ameryn and Rogan spent some time hanging out with my parents and siblings while Chris and I went out with some friends. Ameryn had started saying that her ear hurt a little earlier in the afternoon, but as it was Sunday and no Drs. offices were opened, we decided to give her some Tylenol and take her in the morning. She was doing fine when we dropped them off with some happy meals and kisses, promising to see them later that evening. I left my cell phone at home because we were taking the motorcycle, and I would have nowhere to keep it. I thought that Chris had his on him, but he had left his at home as well. Ameryn's ear really started to hurt later in the evening, and her fever started to spike. She was pretty pitiful, I was told, and spent the evening snuggled up to her Mimi. At one point my brother David came in to the room and asked if Ameryn would like to sit with him for awhile. She said yes and they settled down in a chair together. "Wow Ameryn, you're really hot. Let me go get you a damp rag" he told her. He got up to get her a nice damp rag, and Ameryn went back over to Mimi. They waited for about ten minutes for David to come back (he doesn't get in any kind of hurry), when Ameryn looked up at her Mimi and said in the sweetest little voice " Mimi, where's my dam rag?" My mom did her best to hold in the laughter and asked her what she said. "Where's David with my dam rag? I really need a dam rag." What made it even more hilarious is that she was saying this with the sweetest, most pitiful little voice. She really needed that dam rag!

So SmOoOoky!

2009-11-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

I am a sleep walker, talker, seeing things...er. I have been for as long as I can remember. I once got out of bed, went out the front door, and knocked on our neighbors front door at about three in the morning. I remember falling down in the grass on my way back home, and then nothing until I woke up in my bed later that morning. I was about six. My Dad was sure to engage the chain lock on our door the next night and waited to see if I would attempt my escape again. Sure enough around the same time I came out of my bedroom and started trying to open the door. I could not, so I just stood there pulling repeatedly at the handle. My Dad decided to undo the chain and watch what I was going to do next. I stepped out onto the porch and just stood there for a few minutes. When my Dad asked me what I was doing I replied "Don't you know Dad? I'm floating." I only remember him bringing me back into my bed and asking me what I was doing. I was very insistent that I was in fact floating. I had started to wake up by then, and knew that what I was saying was silly, but just couldn't make myself say anything else! I have continued to do things like this even until now (though I have never to my knowledge left my house again).I even freaked out my newly wed husband by trying to catch the wagon wheel on a pole with giant nails sticking out of it that was falling onto him...twice. For the past few months I will suddenly wake up as if someone had yelled my name, and see a huge spider sliding down his web from the wall toward my face. I will jump out of bed to turn the light on only to find that the spider has disappeared. I have apparently passed this trait onto my children. Ameryn has woken up crying numerous time watching things on her ceiling that I can not see. She also talks, and will even answer questions you ask her with a hilarious "yisssss" when her answer is yes. Well, the night before last something very smooky (Ameryn's version of "spooky") happened. I snapped out of a deep sleep to see not a spider, but a giant black beetle crawling down the wall. Being that I am not as deathly afraid of beetles as I am of spiders, I lay there watching it until it slowly disappeared. As soon as it had faded into oblivion Rogan woke up crying in his room. I went into his room and found him crying, staring at his pillow. "What is it buddy?" I asked. "The cricket" he answered. I searched through his bed, insisting that there was no cricket lurking anywhere in it, until he was appeased enough to go back to sleep. When I got back into bed I told Chris that It was really weird that I had just seen a beetle on the wall and then Rogan wakes up with a phantom cricket in his bed. I went back to sleep only to be woken up with Ameryn about two inches away from my face ten minutes later. "Mommy, there is a beetle crawling down my wall" she said pitifully. I got up and checked it out, finding no beetles. She went back to bed, only to get back up about thirty minutes later tell me that the beetle came back. I rechecked her bed, and let her sleep with the lights on (which is a surefire method of keeping ghost bugs at bay). After that we had no more night time visits of the arthropodian kind, for which I am very grateful! So what do you think, pretty smooky? I thought so!

I Ate A Leaf Once...

2009-10-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ahh Ameryn, my sweet , wonderful, precocious daughter. She says some crazy things!Recently while we were talking I was reminded about a funny thing Amy told me that happened while Chris and I were in Barbados. Brent was asking her where her favorite place to eat was and she replied " McDonalds." " Ok, but if you could eat anything in the world, what would you eat?" Her response? "I ate a leaf once." I was laughing so hard when Amy told me this! I forgot to ask Ameryn about it until She and I were discussing why it is that some people like the way fish tastes and some people don't (this is mainly because she and her Daddy love seafood, but I cannot stand it). I was explaining that it was the same thing as her hating "long beans" (green beans) and me loving them, when she said "long beans just taste like grass, or maybe a leaf." In that moment the "I ate a leaf once" statement came back to me and I asked her to tell me the story of the time that she ate a leaf. "Well," she stated, " It was when David, Kaley, Rogan, Aubrey and I were playing hide and seek outside. None of the other babies were out there, it was just us. Well, I was hiding behind the spider tree"-"Wait, what is the spider tree?" I asked (not only out of curiosity, but so that I can avoid it in the future). " It is the one with all of the baby rocks around it and it has a hip like this" she says as she puts her hand on one hip and juts it out to one side. "Oh, OK" I said even though I still was not quite sure of the one the was describing. "Well I was behind it and there was a stick with six leafis on it. I picked it up and took one off so then there were five leafis on it (the equation is apparently essential to the story). And then I ate one...all of it." She said matter-of-factly. I was trying so hard not to laugh because she was so nonchalant about eating leaves, or leafis, whichever the case may be. "Did you like it?" I asked her. " It tasted kind of like lettuce" She replied. Chris gave her the talk about why we don't eat wild plants, and I don't think that she will be experimenting with exotic tastes anytime soon, but I expected this more from Rogan and not the my little girly girl! :)

Busy Busy!

2009-09-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

Summer has passed too quickly this year! It seems like it barely got hot enough to swim before it started cooling down again! And we apparently have two monsoon seasons in Tennessee, or at least that is the way it was this year. I am so glad to see the (albeit much cooler) sun last week! Too bad it has hidden its self again! We have been very busy this summer, with Ameryn's and Rogan's birthday's, their combined party, weekend trips to Chattanooga, Gatlinburg, Panama City Beach, Family visiting for the Fourth of July, Ameryn getting a new pet, Ameryn starting homeschooling for kindergarten, Ameryn placing first runner up in the fairest of the fair pageant, and Chris and I celebrating our 8th anniversary in Barbados! We have had so much fun this year, and I can't wait for the warm weather to return (I don't do very well in the cold). But now, let me introduce you to my little friend.

This is Josie! She is a sweet little sugar glider:)
isn't she cute!

Conversations With My Son

2009-08-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

Rogan is talking so much these days. He has moved on from the talking just to get something to actually carrying on a conversation with you. These are not yet as deep and thought provoking as the conversations that I have with Ameryn, but are great just the same. Here are just a few short examples to let you get a taste of his personality.

ROGAN: Mommy, see my hand (he is showing me his empty cupped palm)?

ME: Yeah buddy, I see it.

ROGAN Sighing: See, there no doughnut.

ROGAN: Mommy I poop my mouth!

ME: Wait, you did what?!

ROGAN excitedly: I poop my mouth!

I am getting slightly nervous now about what he could be meaning when he lets out a little burp.

ROGAN: See, I poop my mouth!!

Wow, I am going to have to work on his terminology!

ROGAN: Mommy, I want night night.

ME: You just woke up buddy, do you really want to go back to bed?

ROGAN: No, I want Mommy night night. He then snuggled into my lap :)

We have longer winded conversations, but these usually happen while he is ahem on the toilet, which is about the only time that he is still for more than a few seconds. I won't get into those on here, as they are often very detailed accounts of what he is doing at the time with some other hilarious things mixed in. I will have to figure out how to post a video on here so that you can actually here his sweet little voice and laugh with us at the way he says things! I don't know what I will do when he stops saying he wants to "holded" something or when he doesn't give an enthusiastic "yeah" when you ask him something!

Little Miss Fairest Of The Fair

2009-08-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

Ameryn was in the "Little Miss Fairest Of The Fair" pageant last night. This was the first year that she had to walk the stage all by herself! They would not let parents be backstage, and she was feeling a bit nervous when I had to leave before the pageant started. Chris and I could see her from where we were sitting, and it took her no time to make friends with the little girl beside her. She did so good walking out and smiling in front of the crowd! We were so excited for her when she made top fifteen (there were thirty girls altogether). She pretty much had no idea what was happening when she made top five, but was so excited when they started calling out names and giving out pretty silver plates to the winners. She placed first runner up! She loved having her picture made and showing her fancy plate off to everyone! Being the forgetful person that I am, I did not bring our camera to the pageant, so here are a few shots from when we got home. Katelyn is going to do a photo shoot with her in her dress, so I will have more pictures to post soon!

Happy Birthday Ameryn!

2009-07-21T04:25:00.000-07:00

Time flies by when you are having fun. That is so true of the time that we have had with our wonderful firstborn. She has been such a joy for us! It is so hard to believe that it was five years ago today that we were so incomprehensibly blessed with our daughter! I will share with you the day that our lives were so radically, and yet beautifully changed. I went to bed Tuesday night as usual. I felt no different than I had any other night in my final month. I fully believed that I would hold onto this baby until the scheduled induction I had for Friday. You see, I was five days overdue, and the were expecting me to have a giant baby being that I was so huge. I had to have another ultrasound about a month prior to check on her size because they were worried that she would be too big for me! She measured perfectly at that time, and they estimated that she would be between seven and nine pounds at birth. Chris and I were not worried about her size, we had always figured that with both of us being a little more than eight pounds at birth, our kids would be around that too. I had taken Tuesday off from work, figuring that I should take my boss up on the offer to take a day off to relax before I had the baby. I was fully intending to go back to work on Wednesday and work until my induction. Ameryn, thankfully, had other plans for my week! at 12:30 a.m. I startled awake. I really had no idea why, but after laying there for no more than three seconds I heard and felt a little "pop." I rushed into the restroom and sure enough, my water had broken. I tried to call out for Chris, who had fallen asleep on the couch. I finally got up and made my way into the living room to wake him up. I didn't have to do much three words brought him back from his eight hour coma in a snap. "My water broke" and he jumped up and gave me a hug, and voiced the question that was on my mind "what do we do now?" I had not really planned for this. In my mind labor always begun with contractions that you timed and new when things were getting close. We knew that once my contractions were five minutes apart it was time to call Dr. Scott and head to the hospital. I mean geez, didn't this usually happen well into labor, sometimes not until right before delivery? It was not what i was anticipating, but I was rolling with it (but really, there was not anything else I could do:). I called my doctors after hours service, hoping they were not going to tell me to wait around until I started contracting! They didn't. After a few questions to be fairly certain that it was my water breaking, not just some other issue that can happen with a very pregnant woman, the answering nurse put the call into the doctor, assuring me that they would call me back in minutes. I did not wait long before the phone rang again and Dr. Scott told me to head to the hospital. It was her surgery day, so my delivering Dr. would be Dr. Crowe. I had met and had a few appointments with Dr. Crowe, so I was not to upset not to have my regular doctor. Chris and I each got a shower and quickly made our way to The hospital. After a brief test to be sure that things were really happening, we were shown back to our room. I was hooked up to monitoring devices and given my IV. They gave me pitocin to start contractions, being that my water had already broken and I was not having any yet. My Mom and Amy arrived shortly there after. I was going to try and deliver without an epidural, but pitocin brings on hard and strong contractions form square one, and I was having a lot of intense pain from it. I labored for four hours before I gave in and asked for some relief. I was terrified of the giant needle that was about to be inserted into my epidural space, but I was relieved that there was an end to the pain in sight. They would not let Chris hold my hand during the procedure, and I could only get a glimpse of Amy from where the nurse was standing. They had to tell me to calm down a few times and try to slow my breathing ( I was pretty much hyperventilating at this point) but once they were done everything was great! I could watch myself contracting on the monitor, and actually be relaxed enough to relax some. Notice that I said "relax" and not "sleep" people are always wanting you to get some sleep while in labor, and for me that is simply not possible. I don't really know how anybody would be able to sleep with a baby coming, but I digress. I pretty much had no progression and only dilated to about a two before 7:00 a.m. Chris' family and my Dad arrived shortly there after. I was pretty comfortable through the morning, finally progressing to a four at about 10:00 a.m. Dr. Crowe came and checked on my progress at about noon, and discovered that I had progressed two more centimeters to be at a six! They expected me to be at least a few more hours, so Dr. Crowe went to check on a lady who was a bit farther along than I was. I had started to feel a lot of pressure at this point and was feeling that things were really starting to happen. I asked for the nurse to check me again. They really didn't think it was necessary since I had just been checked an hour before, but they went ahead with it and discovered that I was a full 10 centimeters dilated! They paged Dr. Crowe and started to get things ready for the new baby. They decided to let me push, telling me that I would be pushing for at least two hours. After my first attempt the nurse got a funny look on her face and said to get Dr. Crowe immediately. Apparently I was much more efficient than they had anticipated :) . They had me stop pushing (which is next to impossible when your body decides to do it without your help) and Dr. Crowe came running in. In 15 minutes total Ameryn came into this world. It was 1:50 p.m., after 13 hours and 20 minutes of labor. She had beautiful golden blond hair and eyes that were so blue that you knew that they would stay blue. She weighed 8 lbs 4 1/2 oz, and was 20 1/4 inches long. She was such a good baby, and would sleep for five hours at night as soon as we brought her home (that lasted for about a week :). She has been such a blessing in our lives. She has a love for music, dancing, and all things Daddy! We love you sweet girl!

A Weekend In Gatlinburg

2009-07-01T04:36:00.000-07:00

We decided this past week to take a little weekend trip to Gatlinburg. I started looking on the Internet for cabin rentals, but then we thought that we have never reserved anything before so why start now? Also we thought it might be nice for the kids to have a pool, and I have not seen a cabin with one yet :) . I got us all packed and ready and we started to leave Friday night. I say started because we made it across the green bridge and decided that we would get there so late (like midnight) that it would not be worth it! So we turned around, grabbed some dinner, and headed home. I set my alarm that night for 3a.m., thinking that I would get up and run to Walmart before it was time to go and get a few things that we would need. Didn't happen. I hit the snooze button until 3:30 and finally got up to shower and get ready to go. Chris and I got the car packed and woke the kids up around 4:30. They had a quick wardrobe change and got settled in the car for their long sleep to Gatlinburg! I love it that we were blessed with two very good car riders. Practically any drive longer than 30 minutes and they will go to sleep :) . We did have a hard time with Rogan at first, he would cry and cry in the car. When he turned one, and we were able to turn his car seat to the forward facing position, everything changed. He went from a crabby car rider to a very happy one! He just wanted to be able to see what was going on I guess! After heading out on the road I realized that I had forgotten to pack Rogan some shoes! So when we stopped in Clarksville to eat breakfast I had to run into Walmart and grab him some new ones! I was also able to pick up the few things that we needed then (instead of at 3a.m.), so it all worked out! when we got into Pigeon Forge, our friend Rachel called my phone. they were in Gatlinburg with another couple and wanted to know if we wanted to meet up for lunch. We were just coming up to the shopping center that they were at so we thought that we would stop and say hi right then. After learning what wild and crazy people were, ( going to Gatilinburg in peak season without a reserved place to stay is not for the feint of heart) who were not yet committed to any sleeping facility, they offered us the extra room in the cabin that they were staying in. We were quite shocked at the invite, and had no intentions of intruding on their trip, especially with two children in tow! They were very insistent, however, and we ended up staying with them that night. The cabin was gorgeous, and the kids had their very own jacuzzi bath tub to play in! We had so much fun shopping, go carting and bungee jumping (Skip and Rachel, we just cheered them on :)! We said goodbye to Skip, Rachel, and new friends Steve-o and Susanna, the next morning. It was so blazing hot that we decided to find a good place in the mountain to wade. Chris did an excellent job of finding the perfect spot while the kids and I took a little nap! The water was freezing, and Rogan did not want to go in it for awhile. This of course did not deter Ameryn, and she took to the water immediately! Rogan was quite content to throw rocks into the water for awhile.

I got in as well!

Who says you can't wade in a dress?

Rogan finally got in when he realized that the best throwing rocks are in fact in the water!

He was trying to follow his Daddy in this one. :)

Showing off her weapons of mass destruction.

Rogan is not a fan of wet clothing, so as each item got wet, they had to come off!

My family! We finished the day in downtown Gatlinburg with shopping, an arcade, and dinner at Cherokee Steak House. It was a really fun trip,I can't wait to go back!

Ameryn and Rogan's Birthday

2009-06-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday (Fathers Day, I know) we celebrated Ameryn and Rogan's 5th and 2nd Birthday! We decided to have a combined party for them this year and it went really well. We had never booked a party somewhere, we had always had Ameryn's party in our back yard or at the church, and Rogan had his first birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. It was nice to only have to worry about the cake (which I stayed up until 3a.m. decorating:). They had a blast and Rogan asks me every day if we can go back! Rogan's cake was Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. Ameryn wanted a pink butterfly. She got to help put on the finishing touches (the stuff that looks like a sprinkling of dirt is actually green sparkles, I don't know why they came out that way in the pic!).

They had a visit from Monkey Joe, which Ameryn loved!

Rogan, not so much!

Blowing out the candles.

Having fun on the bouncies!

It was a great day! Thanks to everyone who made it special by celebrating with us!

Spider Girl

2009-06-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

AMERYN: Hey Momma, watch what I can do!

ME: Sure baby, go ahead.

Ameryn: Wasn't that cool?

Me: That was so awesome, you looked just like Spider Girl! But do me a favor sweetness.

Ameryn: Sure Momma.

Me: Let's not do that again. :)

Playing Catch Up

2009-05-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, It has been a long time since I have posted! This is mainly due to the fact that I have been super busy with potty training two kids, caring for many small children at my daycare, and a little splash of just plain laziness!

Rogan is doing great with his potty training, and I am certain that we will definitely be done before kindergarten ;) . He has shown a great capacity for being outside with out having an accident. In my previous experiences with potty training, being in the great outdoors is the downfall of most children. I don't know what it is, but playing outside causes more accidents than a hand dipped in warm water while sleeping ( I have never actually tried this prank, but I have been told that it works :) . We had an impromptu birthday party for him at Chick-Fil-A. He and Ameryn are having a double party in June, but we couldn't let his birthday go by without doing a little something! He loves the motorcycles and guitar that he got! His speech and vocabulary have improved dramatically. I guess being able to hear agrees with him!

Ameryn is doing so well in karate, and just got her blue belt! Her teacher says that if she continues to progress as she has been, she will be one of the youngest black belts that the school has graduated. She really loves the classes and her teachers, but we will see if she still wants to continue with it when her year is up (if our kids choose to join a class, they have to do it for at least one year before they are allowed to stop). She is becoming my little fashionista, always wanting to "have some style." this started with her wanting to roll her socks down, calling that a style. just recently she was looking in my closet and found my black flip flops that have some sparkly things along the straps. "oh, momma, these are so beautiful! But you know, You need to wear them with something colorful. You know, because you don't want to be all black or anything." It was so hard to keep from laughing! And not because it was unsound advice, it was quite true, but for the fact that this was coming from my four year old. A four year old who has never watched fashion T.V. , or even seen a fashion magazine! I don't believe that I had to have this conversation with her today:

AMERYN: "Momma, can I wear my shirt up like this so that it shows my tummy?"

ME: "No baby, we don't wear our shirts like that."

AMERYN: " But why Momma?"

ME: "Because Ameryn, we are ladies and ladies don't walk around with their stomachs showing."

AMERYN: (dejectedly) "I just wanted to show some style."

I explained to her that there are more ways to be stylish while still being modest like wearing bracelets or rings or something of that sort. As in this picture, where she has added a butterfly headband, necklace, and three bracelets that are not in the shot. She was still unimpressed. But when I mentioned that she could put some glitter in her hair all became right in her world again. I just hope that this is not indicative of what is to come as she gets older. I guess as long as she is easily deterred by some well placed glitter, everything will be fine!

Happy Birthday Rogan!

2009-05-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

And now Rogan's story continues. After trying unsuccessfully to relax and not wake Chris and Ameryn up I decided to go ahead with the epidural. At that time I had to lay only on my left side, because Rogan responded better to the contractions that way. This made them much harder for me to bear unfortunately, and as I knew that I would want one sooner or later I decided to opt for the sooner. My Mom and sisters had been in the waiting room for awhile trying to let Chris and Ameryn get some rest, so they were able to take Ameryn out of the room for the procedure. I had always said that I would not be comfortable with a student shoving a giant needle into my spine, but when the sweetest girl came in and asked if I would be willing to let her practice on me I couldn't say no. I of course asked her the obvious question of how many epidurals she had done (to be sure that I would not be the first) and she told me that I would be her 40th patient. Everything went great ( as great as it can be with someone shoving and shoving a catheter into your epidural space) except that there was a kink in the line when she programmed the dose into the computer. This meant that I did not receive the full dose and was unable to get any more for a certain amount of time. Whatever she gave me was plenty enough to make the rest of my labor nice and comfy:) . At about 4 a.m. Doctor Kyzer came in to see how things were progressing. I was at 2 centimeters by then. I tried to get some rest but again, nada. I was 3 centimeters at 6 a.m., and then 4 at 7 a.m. Chris' family began to arrive at about 8 a.m., and I was found to be at 5 centimeters. I was able to brush my teeth in bed and Amy put my hair up for me because I didn't want to move my hand with the IV in it. I should have looked in the mirror, for when I later saw my pictures (which will not be posted here!) I vowed revenge on her when she had her babies! By 9a.m. I was a full 6 centimeters dilated. The nurses were expecting me to have a while to go, but I was feeling like things were starting move move pretty rapidly. As I experienced with Ameryn, my body likes to go from 6 centimeters to 10 in about an hour. By 10 a.m. I was feeling some pretty intense pressure and asked for the nurse. like I expected I was a full 10 centimeters and ready to go. They called for Dr. Kyzer and started to prepare the incubator. While we were waiting, Rogan' s heart started to really slow down during each contraction. They had me lay on my left side again to help him out. it happened again with the next contraction and the nurse walked calmly over and gave my stomach a little shake. That seemed to work for him and his heart rate came right back up. When it happened again with the next contraction the nurse gave him another shake and that seemed to be enough for him. He didn't make me worry any more:) . They were ready for me to start pushing then, and with the first one they realized that they would need the Dr. pretty quickly. I don't know about you, but someone telling you to stop pushing once you have started is pretty much next to impossible! Dr. Kyzer rushed in and with five more pushes (at 10:30 a.m., 13 hours after my water broke) our beautiful son was born! He was 7 lbs. 10.4 oz. and was 21 inches long. He has looked like a blond haired blue eyed version of his Daddy since day one and has added to our lives exponentially. He is my tiny ball of pure energy, and I love him to my core. Happy Birthday my son! Your Mommy loves you!

Two Years Ago Today

2009-05-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

May eleventh, 2007 was pretty much a normal day for our family. It was a Friday, so Chris went to work and I stayed at home watching Ameryn and the other daycare kids. I was nine months pregnant and hoping that our little boy would make a timely appearance (he was due by the Dr's. calculations on Mothers day, May 13th, by my calculations on the 12th.) and not wait around for five days past my due date like his sister did! My bags were packed. Ameryn was prepared to spend some time with her grandparents after he arrived. I was really hoping that I would recognize real labor and not go to the hospital just to be sent home by a false alarm. we went out that evening (I think that we were playing cards at my parents house, but I'm not sure) and got home around 9 p.m. I put Ameryn to bed at 9:30 and went to relax on the couch before hitting the hay myself. As I relaxed into the couch and turned on the TV I had that peculiar feeling. I knew it well from a night about three years before hand. As I rushed into the bathroom my suspicions were confirmed. My water had broken! So what did we do? I hopped into the shower. We figured that we had a few hours before anything major happened so we tried to relax. Right. We woke Ameryn up and asked if she would rather head to her Grandparents house or spend the night with us in the hospital. She wanted to stay with us so we called the doctor who told us to head on to the hospital. It had been a very stormy night and when we got to Baptist it seemed like every woman in the area had decided to give birth that night as well. "They" say that a storm front brings more babies than spicy food, and I guess that "they" were right on this occasion. After being checked to be sure that my water had in fact broken (I mean, really, can you mistake that?) We ended up in the waiting room for about thirty minutes for a room to be cleared for me. Once in the room I was hooked up to all of the monitors and given my IV (complete with pitocin because my water had broken and I had not started contracting yet) we were left alone so that we could get some sleep. Again, right. Chris and Ameryn slept on the fathers bed/couch while I waited for things to get moving. I don't understand how anyone could sleep with a baby coming, let alone with a needle stuck in there hand, and contractions that were getting progressively worse. That brings us up to about midnight, the rest of the tale continues tomorrow...

Warning, A Bunch Of Potty Language Is Following!

2009-05-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

Potty Training. Can two words cause more anxiety than those? I suppose that there are in fact many phrases that come with infinite amounts of angst (for example: hair loss, mortgage foreclosure, limb amputation), but for an otherwise healthy and happy family, potty training can be the cause of massive stress. Not necessarily for the child's father, but definitely for his mother! It goes right up there with walking, talking, and graduating from school. The overwhelming amount of tactics alone can cause cold sweats. Do we use pull-ups? Do we have a "potty party" and make him stay on the toilet all day? Do we go straight to underwear, or just let him run around in the buff ? So many choices. for Ameryn (who was soooo easy to train) we did the pull up route for about a week. After an allergic reaction to the "feel and learn" liner, we hopped straight on the panty train and never looked back. She was daytime trained within the week and fully trained (night and all) by the end of the month! Rogan has been "pre training" for awhile now, which means that we will occasionally sit him on the toilet so he gets the feel for it. He showed an early liking for having a b.m. on the toilet, so I thought that we had the hard part down. For some reason we decided to start his intensive training Tuesday. I don't really know why, but it seemed like as good of a time as any with his birthday being next week and all.His first day was very discouraging. We had not bought any pull-ups, so he went straight to underwear. He did not want to sit on the toilet at all. When he did he just wanted to talk about spiders and fish and give no thought to why he was in the bathroom in the first place. He did realize what was happening when he had an accident, but of course it was to late to make it into the bathroom. Day to started out more promising with no accidents until after nap. Which also means that he held everything until nap time! He did manage to have a b.m. on the potty, and that keeps that record clean! And today I am not only working with Rogan, but Aubrey as well. She turned two in January and is now ready to train as well. Though it may sound like a lot of extra work, it has actually done wonders in motivating Rogan. A little jealousy goes a long way with this boy! I would comment on our progress today, but i don't want to jinx anything :) . Hopefully we will continue to progress well, and be out of diapers before long!
The end :)

Never Quite Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Rogan got to spend some solo time with his Bobo and Kay (Chris's parents) yesterday! It looks like he had a great time:) .

Is he laughing or screaming in this one? LOL

Untitled

2009-04-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know where this is?

Chattanooga Part II, a.k.a. What Made The Red Man Red

2009-04-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we woke up to Rogan crying at 6:30 a.m. This is very unusual for him, as he is normally an excellent sleeper. Chris got him and put him into bed with us. When I kissed his cheek and felt how hot and bumpy it was, we turned on the lights and were greeted by this poor little guy. I then realized what was going on. He had not gotten too much sun yesterday as I had thought, and it was a very good thing that I did not continue to slather him with sunscreen. You see, When I was eighteen I started to have this very same problem, but it took me many painful summers to figure out what was actually causing the outbreak. Sunscreen. He had this rash every where that it was applied, and what looks in the photo to be a bad sunburn is actually a painful allergic reaction.

We found a drug store and bought some Benadryl, which seemed to make him feel a lot better. Luckily it was a very rainy day and he had no need of the awful stuff for the rest of the trip:). Now that we knew what made the red man red, it was off to breakfast and the Tennessee Aquarium. If you have never been, it is huge. The aquarium is actually made of to buildings, each with their own experience. We started out with the "ocean" building where we got to go into a butterfly house, feed and pet stingrays, and a lot more. The penguin exhibit was one of their favorites. Can you find them in this picture?
Ameryn clowning around with a scuba diver. Now on to the "fresh water" building. If you ever have a chance you should definitely visit the Tennessee Aquarium for yourself. But as you can see, I find my kids to be much more interesting than the exhibits:)

Chattanooga Part I :)

2009-04-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ahh, weekend trips. We love them! This time we visited Chattanooga, and although we did not do everything that they had to offer, we did get to visit some pretty cool places. Saturday started out (after my car's oil change and the drive of course) with the Chattanooga Zoo. Even though the zoo itself is pretty small, the exhibits were very nice.Something was a little off in this one, though:).

They had a nice little petting zoo, with more than just goats to play with. They also kept a few never before seen creatures lurking around!

I think that they loved the carousel the most!

After the zoo it was off to dinner. It was a surprise for the kids, and Rogan was actually the first one to see the sign. When he saw the Chuck E. Cheese emblem in the sky he threw his arms in the air and shouted "Oh Yeah!" It was hilarious to say the least!

He loves to eat his pizza upside down:), Hmm, does his cheek and ear look a little splotchy to you? Maybe he just got a bit too much sun. I guess I should have reapplied the sunscreen more often!

She loves a good monster truck!

A little princess. After all the tokens were gone and the tickets spent we went to find a place to stay (again with the spontaneity). We ended up doing quite nicely. There was even an Apple B's across the street where we dropped in and got desserts. It was a fun day, but man Rogan's cheeks are looking pink...

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

2009-04-15T06:12:00.001-07:00

What he did not want to do.What he did want to do.Ameryn mariposa.Clingmans Dome.The ride home.

Ameryn's Exotic Animal Adventures

2009-04-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Last year Chris and I took Ameryn to the beach for her first time. She had a blast, and already asks about when we can return. This trip also started a new hobby of hers- having her picture made with every animal possible. She started of with a dolphin, but was too small to reach out over the side of the tank safely, so I had to hold her. She was to interested in trying to touch the dolphin to worry about working the camera for once:). She then went on to have her picture made with a California sea lion. Her daddy was going to be in the picture with her (we thought it would be neat if they could do the same pose as this picture which was taken two years earlier), but she decided at the last minute that she wanted to go it alone with the giant sea lion. The result was priceless! Later in the same trip we took her to Zoo World, where she had her picture done with a beautiful Timber wolf, Dakota. Again, she chose to brave the massive beast alone.

It was against the rules for her to have her picture done by herself with the ring tailed lemur, so I had to sit beside her in this one.

It sounds a little against logic that a four year old can pet a wolf by herself but not be allowed to hold a lemur, but let me tell you, that monkey was crazy! It was jumping all over me trying to get that marshmallow! I can see where a small child might freak out with a spastic monkey! Her exotic animal adventures continue with our recent Gatlinburg trip. She loved the newly opened "Parrot Mountain." She got to feed the small conures and parrots by hand. They also had a lorikeet enclosure where you got to feed the lorikeets with cups of nectar (although these were much friendlier than the ones at the Nashville Zoo, or possibly just less full)

She even got to hold a full grown macaw named "Bella."

We headed up through the mountains to Cherokee, North Carolina where we visited the Cherokee Zoo. This is where we found the ultimate in animal photo opportunities: the chance to have her picture made with a live grizzly bear! I was amazed that they would let both of my children in such close proximity to a grizzly, but I had to be in the photo as well, you know, in case something went wrong. Wait for it people, it will knock your socks off!
That's what I'm talking about! :) There is sweet little Bella, the two month old grizzly cub, whose parents were in the enclosure directly across from us! If you noticed Rogan's absence in the bird pictures, it is because he was slightly frightened of them. He was all about the bear however, and wanted to hold and "have" it! I can't wait to see what kind of animal she will end up with next!

Gatlinburg Part II

2009-04-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

Now on to the search for lodging! While in Gatlinburg we normally find a hotel to stay in, and as I before mentioned the spontaneous nature of our trips, The search can sometimes be long and disastrous. OK, it was only bad one time when every single hotel was full and we had to go to a neighboring town to try and find something. We finally found a Family Inn in Newport, and we so worn out by this time we would have taken anything. When we got to our room we ended up turning right around and finding a walmart to buy our own sheets and pillowcases. But such is life when you like to live on the wild side:). This time Chris decided that we should try out a chalet or cabin. We ended up finding a rental company that would let us rent a cabin for one night and went to find it, hoping that we would not have to go purchase new bedding. On the way Rogan kept looking out the window and saying, "Hi Monkey!" Chris asked him where the monkey was and he said, "In trees!" As we pulled into our cabins drive way, I happened to see the "monkey" when he did. He very politely greeted this squirrel with an enthusiastic "Hi monkey!" I can see his logic, they climb trees, and have tails so they are obviously not apes. He also has more experience with monkey's from the zoo, since our dogs pretty much keep the squirrels out of our yard. Our cabin turned out to be great, with a hot tub outside on the screened in deck where Ameryn got to "swim", and a huge jacuzzi tub in the master bedroomWhere Rogan got to play. He didn't care for the jacuzzi:). The kids got to sleep upstairs and Rogan had so much fun climbing up and down them.

And looking through the railing of the loft.

Getting to run around in their own room was loads of fun!

Relaxing in Ameryn's big bed was great too.
Rides in the super sweet spinning chair was also a plus.It was so nice to have a place where you didn't have to worry about disturbing other people! I don't know if we can go back to a hotel after this!

Gatlinburg Part I a.k.a. A Million Pictures Of My Kids Doing Stuff

2009-04-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

One of the really fun things about being married to Chris is that it is not uncommon for him to call me from work and say this "hey, when I get off from work tomorrow, why don't we go to Gatlinburg?" I love it that he would just surprise us with weekend trips like that. The kids were great and slept most of the way down. Ameryn thought it was cool to eat breakfast at cracker barrel in her pajamas. The very first thing we did once in Sevier county was to go to The Deer Farm. The Deer Farm is a petting zoo, that also offers horseback (or pony back) rides. This was somewhere that Chris and I visited while we were on our honeymoon. Ameryn and rogan loved feeding the different animals, and Rogan was less afraid of the deer than Ameryn was!This is Ameryn waiting on her pony, Baby Doll, to be brought out.

This is what happens when I try to take a picture with my left hand while leading a pony with my right.

Rogan on "Little Joe."

Rogan got more comfortable with the horse and Chris was able to let him go. Cowboy up!

What a little ham!

Ameryn loved the goats, Rogan loved to take off running in the goat pen and wipe out. Ewww.

Ameryn was a little timid with the deer, although she gave a kiss to a very sweet girl

Rogan loved taking the food, and pouring it onto the ground.

He was not the least bit afraid of them!After the farm we headed into Gatlinburg to eat and find a place to stay (Did I mention that we like to do things spontaneously?), But I will post more on that tomorrow. I bet you can't wait:).

Purple Dragon!

2009-03-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last week Ameryn graduated to a purple belt! We are so exited that she will get a nice girly color to make hair bows with. She is the only one in her class that has matching hair bows, earrings, and nail polish to go with her belts. The way I look at it is , she can "punch you in the throat", and look pretty doing it!
P.S. The "punch you in the throat" statement is related to an actual comment my daughter made. I am only barely computer literate, and don't know how to link back to older posts! If you are interested in the rest of the statement, I believe that it is in my very first post, my one and only "Not Me Monday!"

A Day At The Zoo

2009-03-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than a trip to the zoo when i is 71 degrees outside! Last Saturday we packed up the kids and headed out for a fun day at the zoo. Rogan is a zoo veteran, as he has been going since he was a few months old. We did not brave the zoo (or the movie theater, or many restaurants) with Ameryn until she was about two, not because she was a difficult child, but because we were inexperienced. We have been much more adventurous with Rogan who goes pretty much any where that we go (as a family that is:)! He is happy with practically anything if it involves the outdoors, but he is also a very good movie goer, with only the occasional (inside voiced) noise or two. It is hilarious to see him in his own seat with the tub of popcorn (which he monopolizes) and a giant drink in his lap just watching the movie:) . And now back to the topic at hand, here are some pictures of or trip!

Rogan loves to check out the animals from his perch on his Daddy's shoulders.

It's a good thing that Chris can walk with his eyes closed!

The meerkat exhibit is one of Ameryn's favorites.

This is Rogan trying to grab the camera :)oh, and if Rogan is ever riding on your shoulders and he laughs and says "bye bye!", hold on tight because he is about to do this:

Ameryn loves the petting zoo.

"Rogan, you are supposed to be brushing the goat, not your teeth."

His First "Why"

2009-03-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Rogan: Momma, Where Ammen? (He pronounces his sisters name so well now:)

Me: She is in her room.

Rogan: Momma, Where Ammen?! (there is more emphasis on the question now)

Me: She is in her room, buddy.

Rogan: Momma, WHERE AMMEN?! (The tension is building)

Me: Rogan, she is in her room.

Rogan: (Shrugging his shoulders)Why??
Ahh, there it is. The first in what I can only assume will be an almost endless stream of "why's".

The Imposter

2009-03-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

This past year at a church picnic someone came up to me and said "is it her?" I was completely confused and said "what do you mean?" "In the magazine on the back cover" they replied. I told them that no, my daughter was not in a magazine, but they were insistent, and thought that I was pulling their leg. They just so happened to have the copy of the magazine in there car and went to get it. Let me just tell you that I was struck speechless by the little girl on the back cover. It was my daughter, only maybe a little older. Anyone that saw it was certain that it was indeed, my daughter, and was shocked when we told them that it was not her. Can I sue for copy right infringement of my daughter? :)

Sleepy Thoughts With Ameryn

2009-03-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

Last night while Ameryn was falling asleep, we had this conversation:

Ameryn: Mommy, I will never call you stinky.

Me: Oh, well thank you baby.

Ameryn: I will bring you presents every day.

Me: That is very kind of you sweet girl:) .

Ameryn: Just a second ago one of my nostril holes stuck closed.

Me: (stifled laugh) Oh, I'm sorry baby!

Ameryn: It was so cool.

I Love The Smell Of Play-Doh In the Morning

2009-03-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

I can see it now, pink mush ground so deep into carpet that no matter how much you scrub and scrape will never come out. A toothy grin flecked with neon green from the handfuls of salty dough that have been ingested. And oh the tiny bits, those cursed tiny bits that you will continue to find for weeks! You can never find them all, they will continue to haunt your every step just waiting to stick into your socks, the horror! The horror!!! OK, maybe that is a bit dramatic, but it is what comes to mind every time Ameryn wants to get out the play-doh! Which is why she only gets it out while Rogan is sleeping. But since Rogan has reached the point where every thing that he touches does not go into his mouth, we tried out some play-doh this morning(with Rogan and Aubrey safely trapped in high chairs of course). And as nicely as they played with it, I may get it out a little more often:) .

This is a dog named Annabelle.
This is a sandwich (open faced I presume). Right after I took this Ameryn had to "sprinkle on a little more mozzarella" :) . Oh, and surprisingly no one ate any of the play-doh!

Ahhh, That's Better

2009-02-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

Rogan's procedure this morning went perfectly! He went into surgery at about 7:00 a.m. and they were home before 8:30! I was expecting them to have to stay until about lunch time, since that is what I have heard from every one else that I have talked to. But Rogan was the very first surgery of the day, so maybe that had something to do with it. When he got home he was his regular rambunctious self. I was fully prepared for him to be cranky and sleepy for the rest of the day. He has been a little bit whiny since he woke up from nap, but I am hoping that a dose of Tylenol will help with that. And to answer a question from the last post, we are just kind of pre potty training right now. He loves to wear his underwear (even on the outside of his diaper:) and he does really well using the toilet whenever he is asked to! We will not start actively training until he turns two in May.

What Was That?

2009-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

After multiple ear infections last year, and An almost constant one since December, we were able to get Rogan in to see an ENT. We had some concerns about his hearing so he had a hearing test done while we were there. Rogan did great during the tests (they gave him two) and he only fussed a tiny bit with the second screening. As it turns out Rogan has at least 15% hearing loss due to the constant fluid against his ear drums. The Dr. told us that basically to Rogan everything sounds like it would if he were under water. That sure explains a lot. Here I thought that he was ignoring me when I would talk to him, or just being plain old defiant. But no wonder, He just can't hear what I'm saying! So he will be getting tubes put in his ears in the morning which will drain the fluid and keep it from building up again. This will allow his ear drums to vibrate as they should and he should be able to hear perfectly again! And then there is always the benefit of no more (or at least drastically reduced) ear infections! I will be looking forward to a lot more of thisand a lot less of this (bet you can't tell what's wrong with him!).

Chick-Fil-A Play Day

2009-02-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

This past Monday there was a very rare occurrence in our household. I had no daycare kids to watch. Well, Aubrey was there, but she doesn't count because she is my sister. So what did we do with our free time? Went to Chick-Fil-A to play of course! They have a great indoor play area for when it is too hot or cold to play outside. So I stole one of my brothers to help keep the kids in order and we headed out for a fun afternoon!
Ameryn and Aubrey Rogan loves the Polynesian sauce! Aubrey and Froseph, er, Joseph I think her Daddy got it right when he started calling her "sassy" as a baby.

And for a bonus, this is Ameryn, Rogan, and Miles when we baby sat him a few weeks ago!

A Little Righteous Anger

2009-02-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have started to do my Bible reading at night. Ameryn has decided that she needs to snuggle with me until her Daddy gets home, so now I read to her from my bible as well. She loves it, even though it is a NKJV and I am sure that makes it more difficult for her to understand. Every night she wants me to read to her from the "Jesus stories":). Last night we started reading from Matthew. I don't sugar coat the Word, I read it exactly as it is and when we are done with a few chapters we will talk about what we read. When we got to the part where Herod put all of the male children from two years old and under to death, she made me stop (nothing like the slaughter of the innocent to put a four year old to sleep, right). "Mommy, why did he do that?" She asked. "Well, Herod was the king, and when the wise men told him that a baby was born who would be the new King of the Jews he got scared because he did not want this baby to take away his power. So since he did not know where baby Jesus was, he just killed all of the Little boys in and around Bethlehem to be sure that Jesus was one of them. But an angel had warned Mary and Joseph and the escaped to Egypt before Herod could kill him." I told her. She gets her serious look on her face here and says to me You know what Mommy?" "What Baby?" " I just really want to smack him in his face right now!" "Yeah baby, I do too."

Planet of the Apes

2009-02-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had beautiful 70 degree weather, so we packed up and went to the zoo. while at the gibbon exhibit, my daughter said to her Daddy: "Daddy, those monkey's don't have tails."

"You're right, they don't have tails" he replied. She then very matter of factly stated, "Then they are apes." I love this kid:).

Later that evening we went to eat at Cock of the Walk. We had a hard time not bursting out with laughter when we overheard this conversation at the table next to us.

Woman: "Does it look blurry in here to you?"

Man: "Yes, I think it is a little blurry in here!"

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

2009-02-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

After having my daughter there were some conversations that I have prepared (or at least thought about) myself for. I have thought about how to teach them about God, death, pregnancy, and other issues that come up in the course of childhood and adolescence. the following topic I was not only unprepared for, but stunned to the point of speechlessness, hence the brevity of the conversation.

Ameryn: "Mommy, do you know what moonshine is?"

Me: "Do you know what moonshine is??"

Ameryn: "Yeah, it's beerd that bad people make and then go to jail."

Me: ???

Apparently, she and her Daddy watched a national geographic program about moonshine, and it's (in all but one instance) lawless makers. We did get more on track for a four year old when we talked about this:

Ameryn: "Hey Momma, do we have any space ships in our town?"

Me: "No baby, but they have some in Florida and Texas"

Ameryn:" Do they have aliens?"

Me:"No, they make them to send people into space so they can do things like walk on the moon."

Ameryn:" I wish I could go to the moon."

And as a little bonus, never in a million years could I ever have imagined having to say this: "Ameryn, Rogan was chewing on one of your little dog poops, you really need to keep those picked up." I couldn't make this stuff up:)

No Business Like Snow Business

2009-02-02T05:59:00.000-08:00

Last week we actually had snow! and not just a fine dusting like we have had before, I am talking about an inch!! :) This was Rogan's first time to play in the snow and he loved it, until his hands froze because he wouldn't keep his (size 6-12 month from last year) mittens on. And being from a state where the snow rarely stays for more than a day or two (yesterday it was a beautiful 64 degrees, this morning it is 30) We do not have any proper snow attire on hand. We went out in tennis shoes with socks on our hands, and yes, Rogan is wearing my scarf because he does not have one of his own. But they had lots of fun, and we hope for more snow next year (or tomorrow, the way things go around here:). She's trying to make a snowman here:)The gloves are off!Rogan's snow encrusted foot."Hey my hands are feeling a little weird."

"My hands are frozen!!"

Now it's time for some nice hot chocolate:)

Wanna Hear A funny Story?

2009-01-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

So this is how it happened, Rogan had to go to the Dr. today (yet another ear infection) and on the way home we stopped at sonic and got a wacky pack for him because he missed lunch. In this wacky pack was a life sized plastic tarantula. While everyone was having snack after nap, I took the spider out of it's package and set it on the coffee table. My daughter had not seen it yet. I left the living room to deal with other chores around the house and suddenly there was a terrified scream from the living room and then a stampede of feet down the hall. The scream continued with a barely comprehensible dialogue of "it's in the", "spider", "momma kill it", and some other things that I could not comprehend. I tried to get her to walk down the hall with me, to show her that it was not real, but her feet were planted and she was literally hysterical. For those of you who understand, this was just like a scene with a high school freshman, a wasp and spider infested shed, and two crazy parents, oh, and the search for a cooler. I was finally able to carry her down the hall into the living room, while she tried to climb out of my arms, and grabbed up the spider and squished it in my hand. She finally realized that this menace was indeed plastic(she knows her momma would have evacuated the house rather than come near a spider that size). She still will not get any closer than this to it.

Fun times :)

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

I love the slightly frantic look in her eyes in this one. It's like she's saying, "My face might actually freeze like this, it is that cold out here!"

All of these pictures were taken by my sister, Katelyn!

2 degrees

2009-01-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

The schools in our county will be closed tomorrow because...wait for it... It is cold! I am not even joking! OK, the low is supposed to be 2 degrees, and yes, that is SUPER cold for Tennessee, but seriously? Anyway, I thought it was pretty funny:) And just for kicks, here is a picture of Ameryn playing in the snow that we had before Thanksgiving.
Why do I only have shots taken from the door way? Because it is cold, of course! Oh, and I had to stay inside with Rogan because he had pink eye, an ear infection, and tonsillitis at the time.

Where's my ten two cotton picking minutes?

2009-01-14T06:46:00.000-08:00

OK, yesterday, after cleaning up in the kitchen and getting everything ready to mop (including getting out the wet jet), I leave the room for no more than two minutes. I mean come on, two minutes! As I walk back toward the kitchen, I start to smell the delightful smell of the floor solution. Wait a minute, I have not sprayed any solution, so I should not be smelling any yet! Then I find this:
If you can't tell, that is seriously a giant puddle. I mopped the entire floor without having to add more spray, and still had to go over the whole thing with a dry rag! My boy, he just wants to help his Momma (or he thinks it is awesome that he can push a button on the mop and water flies out every where, take your pick:). And yes people, that is a car washing cloth secured onto the swiffer with two soft hair bands. Why keep buying the pads when you can just throw that cloth into the washer and reuse it!

Conversations With My Daughter

2009-01-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

Recently, Ameryn and I had a discussion about how God and Jesus are actually the same person. I don't really know how we got on this particular topic, but we were, of course, in the car. After being certain that I had completely confused her, and that she would never want to have discussions on this topic again, I asked her if she understood what I was explaining to her. She said "yeah, Momma, Jesus and God are the same." This kid amazes me sometimes. And then, just when you are thinking that you are getting the hang of discussing deep, philosophical principles with your four year old, she totally throws you for a loop. On the ride home from a day out with Daddy, Rogan, and Me, she asked "does God have a mother?" "Well no, baby, God doesn't have a mother, he has always here. " Can you see where this is going? I have to wonder if she plans these things, to see if her parents know what they are talking about. "Yes, he does have a mother" She states. "Well no, baby, he doesn't. You see, God was here before anything else was, He is the beginning of all things. He is the one that created everything else. He was the first." "Yes, He does have a mother. Her name was Mary. Remember that Jesus and God are the same?" You have to love this girl:)

My guy

2009-01-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

This little guy can melt my heart in an instant. He is the definition of boyhood, even at a year and a half. He is a ball of pure energy, running around the house with his tomahawk in his super man costume. His laugh is liquid sunshine, and I just drink it up! He loves to play hide and go scare (just like we used to play with my Dad:), or just throwing himself into my body full speed ahead. He loves cars, trucks, and trains, and he could spend hours in his room just pushing them around on his table. He climbs on everything, the more dangerous the better! He keeps me on my toes, and tests me to my limits. But I wouldn't want it any other way. I love him to his core, this little guy of mine. He wants me to hold him and sing to him (he sings along now too!), he loves to snuggle into my neck. He loves to tell me "Momma, a do"(which means I love you), and sometimes he just wants to hold me all day. He wants to share my food with me, and wants to feed me his. Yes, this sweet baby even wants to share his daydie with me (he will suck on one foot and wants me to take the other one:). And when something is not going his way, it is me who he calls upon. Right now I am savoring every moment, because all to soon I know that things will change. He is getting bigger every day, and sometimes I wonder "how long do I have to hold him, when will he think that hanging out with his Mom is not the coolest thing in the world?" I know that the day is coming, way too quickly for me, that he would rather be with Dad (or the boys)than hanging out with me. So I cherish every second of this time that God has given, while he still loves to dance and sing and to just be silly with me!

2009-01-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

Since Ameryn is four years old now, and did so well during the holidays without a nap, I decided to let her try out just having quiet time in her room. She was playing so nicely that I decided to sneak a peek at what she was up to, and this is what I found...

Raggedy Andy for a pillow, beach towel for a blanket, and a whole lotta toys make a little girl very sleepy!

Rogan is also having alot of fun with his Christmas presents. He especially loves these three tiny cars that go round on a little track. He thinks that it is really cool to take them for a little spin himself!

He cracks me up pushing them around in that stroller! And why is it that blue eyed people always get red eye in pictures?? I know, randoooom:)

Karate Kid

2008-12-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

Ameryn is now a green dragon! She took her test and graduated about a week before Christmas, and we are so proud of her. She loves the class and has been moving up quickly! She has awesome teachers who are really good at keeping the kids focused and involved. Here are a few pictures from her belt ceremony, I hope you love her "rock star" buns!

Oh, and three cheers for Mommy, who figured out how to fix the huge space between the title and actual post! Let's hear it people, oh yeah:)

Oh, sweet child of mine my sisters!

2008-12-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome little Miles Bennett! He was born last night and weighed 7 lb 8 oz. He is absolutely breath taking, and even has a head full of dark curly hair! I uess he wanted to be like his Aunt Laura:)Here are a few pictures for those of you who have not seen him yet!
And guess, what? He'll be home Christmas day!

Christmas tour of homes

2008-12-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

I know that I am posting this too late for the tour of homes, but I still thought it would be fun to share our trees with you!

Our living room tree. Most of the ornaments have sentimental value, but some are just for fun!

This is one of my favorites. It is the newspaper clipping from our marriage announcement.

Ameryn's first Christmas.

Rogan's first Christmas. Thanks Aunt Shannon!

Ameryn's cotton candy pink tree. Thanks Amy and Uncle Brent!

Rogan's Charlie Brown tree. This was our tree until we had Ameryn. Then it was hers until this year when she got her pink tree, and this one was passed down to Rogan. If you are wondering about the lack of decorations and lights, i am just testing him out with a room tree this year. If he is not interested in pulling it down, I will spruce it up next year:)

These last to are just some random pictures. Ameryn is cheesin it and Rogan has the best look on his face after plopping down on top of the presents. All of the pictures on this post were taken by my very talented sister, Katelyn.

Christmas cookies, and some sweet new shoes

2008-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

I really love to bake, and my kids love to help me. It is not always pretty, but it is always fun. And don't worry, if you eat something at my house, I will always serve you from the "untainted" stash:)

Rogan really just wanted to eat the frosting.

Notice the green mouth:)

And now...some sweet new shoes!

"I put some new shoes on, and suddenly everthing is right"

"I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling"
"And I don't need an excuse, 'cause I'm wearing my brand new shoes!"...song by Paolo Nutini

To sleep, perchance to dream

2008-12-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

It is very rare that I am able to get any sleeping shots of Rogan these days, but here are a few that I was able to get this week. Pay no attention to the mismatched sheets, he's gotta sleep on something while the others are being washed :)

Do notice the two daydies, the hippo and the cow.

Wait a minute, is that a camera flash??! Can't a boy get some sleep in this house?

Oh, hi Mom!

Could you get me out of here?

And as a side note, the talks that my daughter and I have in the car are not always deep and philosophical. Just today she said to me"hey Momma, I just tooted back here and some bubbles shot out!!" Ahh, I could not have been a Henderson if at some point in this blog the conversation did not turn in that direction :)

conversations with my daughter

2008-12-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

Ameryn: Hey Momma, is God everywhere?

Me: Yes, baby, He is everywhere.

Ameryn: Is he in the flowers?

Me: Yes He is!

Ameryn: Is he in the Grass?

Me : He sure is!

(many more questions about where God is)

Me: Do you know where the best place that God is?

Ameryn: Where?

Me: He is in our hearts!

Ameryn: I know that,(thoughtful pause)Do we run so that he can get air?

Me: We absolutely do:)

I think that the car is where my daughter and I have the most thought provoking conversations. I don't know what it is, but that is where she throws me the biggest questions. Most recently we had the discussion about death. We drove by the cemetery as they were having their candlelight service. She was wondering why all of the candles were on the ground and I explained that each of those candles is on the place where a person is buried. "So that is all of the bad people?" she asked. "Well, I'm sure that some were good people and some were bad, but all people die, not just the bad ones. Do you know that when we die we get to go and live with Jesus? "We do?" "Yes, because we have faith, which means that we believe with all of our hears that Jesus came and died on the cross to take away all the bad things that we do. That means that we put our trust in him alone to save us, because we could never be good enough to get to Heaven on our own." "because we forget sometimes momma?" "Yep that's right."" Hey Momma?" "Yeah, baby?" "You know they beat him with belts, right?" "Yeah, baby, I do." Pause... "Momma, can satan get us when we are in Heaven?" "Nope, satan can't get into Heaven, he has to live in hell." She sighs here, shakes her head and says like it is the worst place ever..".jail!"

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-03T05:40:00.000-08:00

Rebel for a cause

2008-12-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hey people, do you see that button on the right side of this blog? Right there, under my baby boy! Click on it and it will take you to meet Mckmama and all of her charming kids! Not only that, but right now she is having a super awesome raffle-way! You could win an incredible camera with tons of extras. All you have to do is buy a raffle ticket for ten dollars and ALL of the proceeds are going to three great causes. You can read more about it on Mckmama's blog, so hurry up and click the button!

Sometimes II

2008-12-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Rogan, and sometimes I like to....

climb up onto the counter

and sneak lollipops. I call them "pop's" for short.

My Mom doesn't seem to like it when I do this, though. She keeps saying something about danger, and busting my head or something, but you know, I gotta have my pop's!

Sometimes I like to...

Slide face first!

sometimes...

I like to pick up apples that my Mom gave to the dogs...do you think she saw me?

And sometimes...

I fall down. What do you do...sometimes?

Sometimes...

2008-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Ameryn and sometimes...

I let my Aunt Katelyn do photo shoots with me (o.k., I will do this anytime she asks:)

Sometimes... I love to play in the leaves

Sometimes...I have fun with my brother

Sometimes...I don't

What do you do...sometimes?

Not me Monday

2008-11-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

My first "Not me Monday!"

I did not hear my 1 1/2 year old's sweet voice coming from my kitchen saying "thank you, thank you!", and find him sitting on the counter with a bowl of lollipops helping himself!

I did not choke down laughter when my wonderful 4 year old very solomnly said to me " Momma, C. (not her brother) kicked me, so I punched him in the throat." I mean seriously, how do you keep a straight face?

And finally, I did not send my kids to y sisters so my hubby and I could see a movie with one diaper and no cup! Oops!