18 Months

Just for fun I occasionally go back through this blog and see where Nate was at Marissa's current age.  I rediscovered this pic of him around 18 months.  Wow.  Do they look alike or what?

Hard to believe our little princess is a year and a half old tomorrow! 

• She is full of spunk these days-busy discovering her independence, and thus, testing limits!
• She continues to add words and simple sentences to her vocabulary by the minute
• She now insists on climbing into her car seat by herself rather than allowing us to place her in it
• She wants to don her own socks and brings her shoes to us
• She wants to brush her teeth by herself and is pretty resistant to us helping her (imagine how fun that is every morning)
• She loves books (especially Goodnight Moon) and insists on turning the pages herself, at her own rate, despite where the reader is
• She is becoming quite bossy, often saying "No No, Bubba/Lola/Daddy" with one hand on her hip and the other wagging at whom or whatever is the cause of her moment of displeasure when she does not think she is getting her way
• She loves to dance more than ever now and will push anything that has music (about 30 times in a row) so she can sway back and forth
• She continues to enjoy playing with pretend food/dishes/her kitchen
• She ADORES her brother and attempts to mimic his every move (Boom-Boom Head is a favorite game they play in the car)
• Her seemingly endless curiosity is amusing and she wants to know the name of everything she points to (although I am not convinced she always knows what exactly she is pointing to)
• We consider it sleeping in if she stays down past 5:30 am, no matter what time we put her down at night
• And in the last few days she seems to becoming rather attached to Minnie Mouse, we will see if that lasts

I love, love, love my baby girl!  Even if she is growing way too fast.  Thanks Roo-Roo for all the sweet smiles and giggles you have given us this last year and a half.  We cannot imagine life without you.

My Sunshine

He really is the sweetest little guy! 

His new obsession is telling Mommy how to do his hair every morning...it can get a little crazy but it is a lot of fun to see his personality continue to emerge.

A few mornings ago, I was waking him up for the day and he groggily rolled over and proclaimed, "Mommy you are my sunshine..." and my heart melted, until he finished the statement with "...now I really want some moon shine"! 

I think I laughed the rest of the day!

He also looked at Marissa one morning and told her "I wish you would just stay little forever".

I know the feeling Nate, I know the feeling.

I love the phases these kids are in.  They are funny, kind, energetic, challenging, and motivating all at the same time.  They certainly keep us on our toes!

PROOF

In case you need some....here's proof that I really do have the cutest kids in the entire world!

 I love these two more than I ever dreamed possible and thank God every day that I get the privilege of watching them grow up!  I am one blessed Momma!

Landon is 5

We went to our buddy, Landon's, party today.  He is 5 now.  It is hard to believe how fast these little ones grow up.  Happy Birthday, Landon! And thanks for inviting us to your awesome Lego party!

A day in Galveston

Last weekend Daddy was out doing some work with the church so Mommy loaded up the kids and headed to Moody Gardens.  We had a blast. 

Some of our adventures at the Aquarium:.

He continues to LOVE penguins (we went back 3 times)

At last!  Every mother's dream....a cage for the kids

The fish is going to get him!

Next we went to the Rainforest Pyramid

Not sure who is checking out who here!

Then we met up with some friends for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. 

 And lastly we took a stroll on the beach (only Mommy did not get pics in the sand).

It was a fun day.  The next day Mommy went back to Galveston to meet up with some friends from High School.  It was a great weekend!

Turning on the charm

Who can resist this handsome little man?

After feeling better, he wanted to get flowers for our neighbor since she was kind enough to watch him for a few hours for us.  He insisted on red flowers and made her a card!  What a little charmer he is!

Videos!!!

So I took these about a month ago and am just now getting around to posting them.  Oh well, better late than never.  Right?

Mean Mommy

Dear Nate,

This morning you woke up complaining of a sore throat...so I stayed home with you.

You weren't running fever but I knew something was not right....so I made a doctor's appointment for you.

You began running fever...so I poured medicine and gave it to you.

As we were pulling into the doctor's office, you began throwing up violently all over my car...so I cleaned you up and gave one of Mommy's shirts to you.

You cried while we waited...so I held you.

You threw up all over Mommy's shirt and pants as well as the shirt you were wearing....so I wiped us down as best I could.

You cried as the doctor looked at your throat and declared you had strep...so I had extra hugs and promises of ice cream for you.

You threw up again...I held the towel for you to throw up in and changed you into a hospital gown that the nurse offered us.

You were scared to get a shot....so I held hands with you.

You were anxious as we waited to make sure the shot did not have any negative side effects...so I sang to you.

You noticed blood on your leg...so I rummaged through the drawers in the office until I found another band-aid for you.

You requested chicken nuggets for lunch....so I stopped at McDonalds on the way home (knowing full well you would not eat them...), in attempt to feed you.

You asked if you could watch Mickey Mouse...so I found the remote and put repeated episodes of your favorite show on, for you.

You stated you were not feeling well....so I ran over and cuddled with you.

You threw up in my face....so I removed my glasses, took you to the restroom, and cleaned you  (again).

You wanted to lay down on the couch...so I covered it with old blankets to comfort you.

You wanted to use the blanket Granny gave us for Christmas, because you have deemed it the "special blanket"....against my better judgement, I went and got it, for you (please don't throw up on it).

I went out to the car and gathered all the dirty clothes and your car seat....so I could clean them for you.

You were thirsty...so I made a drink (which you did not touch) for you.

I worked on removing your car seat cover (apparently you need an engineering degree to do this with ease)...and ended up having to scrub it all clean by hand, for you.

I told you I was going to go shower, and you began to cry...so I stopped what I was doing and ran over to  find out what was wrong with you.

You informed me, because I was leaving, I was being a "mean Mommy"....

Son, moments like this are some of the reasons I will beat you when you are older.
(Just kidding readers, please don't call CPS).

...so mean Mommy stopped and held you a little longer, still covered in throw up from head to toe...because I would do anything for you.

I hope you always know you are loved....and when you become an arrogant teenager I will reflect on moments like these and wonder how you could ever hate me or even question my love for you.  Until then I will just enjoy the time I have, even if I stink!  And this mean Mommy will always try her best to be there, for you.

Love,
Your Mean Mommy

Box and Bath Fun

You are probably wondering how just many pictures of her kids in a box she is going to post...well, I am wondering just how long my kids are going to love playing in boxes, so here are a few more. You can't beat clean, cheap fun that elicits such precious smiles!

Today the kids managed to keep themselves pretty entertained with disappearing into and emerging from the box (which was great because Mommy was watching theTexans game....better luck next year, Texans).

Then this evening we went over to our neighbors. Have I ever mentioned that we have the BEST neighbors ever?  Well, we do.  Tonight they gave the kids some glow sticks which ended up in our bath with us.  I have to admit, it did add a pretty cool effect to the bubbles (the pictures do not do it justice).  The kids loved it and had entirely too much fun bathing in the dark.  I had to physically pry them out of the tub after the water had turned cold and the kids were nice and pruny.

It is just one of those days where I feel overwhelmingly blessed to be the Mommy to these two precious kiddos who can make anything an adventure!  I sure do love them, and I hope they always know that.

Good Night, dear friends and family!

Fishing Extravaganza and TEXANS WIN!!!

Nate received a fishing pole as a gift from Uncle Robert and his family this year and has been begging to use it.  He has diligently been practicing casting in the back yard and today he was able to break it in a little.  The city released catfish into a local swimming pool and allowed children ages 3-6 to get some experience with fishing, in hopes to develop a life long passion for this sport.  I think it seems a little cruel, but whatever... 

His first attempt was the shallow baby pool but they were not really biting so we moved over to the deeper pool.

 Within minutes he and Daddy reeled in their first catch!

He was ready to go again after that first adrenalin rush...he kept asking me, "Mommy did you see that fish fight me?".

 We caught 3 (you get two with the ticket you purchase and pay for up to 3 additional ones), the last one (pictured above) was the largest we caught today.  They even cleaned them for us.  Nate has no interest whatsoever in eating them but he is ready to go fishing again!

After cleaning up and getting 'Rissa down for a nap, we headed over to join some fellow Texans fans (and dear friends) in cheering for our boys as they played in their first-in-franchise-history playoff game...and they pulled off a great win! 

Unfortunately the only pic I got of the fan clan was Darryl cooking up some mean meats for the festivities.

It was a happy day in the Yancy household today!  Here's hoping the Texans can pull out a miracle win against Baltimore next week (fingers crossed)!

Playing with some of our new toys!

We were finally home long enough to play with some of our new toys.  We are not sure what is more fun, the kitchen or the box it came in.  Regardless, the kids are having a good time playing.   Nate has been playing in an old carpet steamer box for months, this is certainly an upgrade in space for the little man!

(Also, please note our new wall color - it was painted as part of our Christmas gift to each other this year - if you want to hear about all that drama, call me sometime!). 

 Nate has really been enjoying the doctor kit that Gigi bought him.  I think he is hilariously adorable as a Dr.

 Rissa often gets to play the role of the patient, whether she likes it or not!

Just look at his face!

After taking her blood pressure, Dr. Nate informed me that she does not have a temperature!  That is right, he has got this science down to a T. 

New Year's Eve 2011

We got together with some friends to send out 2011 and ring in 2012 (well OK, the Yancy Clan did not quite make it to the official "ring in" time, but it was fun nonetheless!)  I love that we have friends who have young kids and we can have kid friendly adventures together.  We have been pretty close to most of these couples since before Nathaniel was born so it is fun to watch them all grow up together!

Even at a young age there is a pretty distinct gender separation.  Boys will be boys...and love the rough and tumble games.

 And girls will be girls, loving to chat and laugh...

Regardless of gender, they all love to eat.  Nate had too much of Jenn's delicious cake in the following picture:

Then the fun began.  The kids all got to play with sparklers.  This is the first year I have let Nate have his own...and he loved it!

The older boys/so called adults were off having Roman Candle Wars ...

...so Nate and Landon got in on their own version of the action (it is a lot less dangerous this way)

Keaton on the other hand did not love all the noise!

 By 8:00 pm Nate ended up burring a hole in one of his socks, getting his hair singed, and had a bloody nose....but that did not stop him from having a great time!  Poor thing.  We partied until we could handle no more.

Thanks Ruperts for a fun night and also to the Halls, McMurrays/Coopers, and Carpenters for some great laughs and delicious food.  Happy New Year, everyone!  We pray 2012 will hold amazing memories for all of you!