Swear words...

My kids don't know the words "swear words", we still say that something is a naughty word and you shouldn't use it....The other night this topic came up because I spelled a swear word to Douglas and Tyler asked what I had just said...I explained it was a naughty word and he wanted me to tell him what it was... When I wouldn't he decided to review the "naughty" words that he knew....He came up with stupid, idiot, butt, pee (his word for his penis), and then he mutters under his breath, "friggin god...." then he says louder and with excitement, "oh my friggin god, thats one too, right mama?!".  My response, was "oh my god" laughing....I totally knew who he had gotten that one from!

Getting back to MY family.....

As a photographer, I spend SO much of my life photographing and EDITING everyone else's special memories and special days...I do remember to photograph my family too, but for the last 5+ months, those pictures have been taken, but not even loaded onto my computer....We have had Kelsi's first dance recital, a trip to Florida, Tyler's first flag football team, Kelsi's fifth birthday and a whole summer on the boat, amongst so much more and I haven't even LOOKED at the pictures yet.  The days and months are flying by and I am an emotional wreck at how big my kids are getting....There are not any signs of "baby" left in them and I think we are hitting a whole new phase of childhood with Tyler and at times it feels like that phase is him already wanting to pull away and be with his friends:(

I am trying OH SO HARD to be in the moment and also capture them for later!

 I am making an effort to get back to MY family starting today!

This quick little story is the perfect example of my "little" Tyler right now....He uses language that I would have expected to come out of a late elementary student or even middle schooler and he is only in his first week of first grade!! Tonight at the bowling alley with his family, he looked at Douglas and he said, "I want to go hang out in the arcade?" Douglas responded with "WHAT?", and he repeated, "Can I? I want to go hang out in the arcade."  

HANG OUT....what is that?!!! I think the mixture of ages at YMCA camp this summer "expanded" his vocabulary - I think it truly helped Kelsi grow up a bit (after last years preschool class where she was the oldest) and it really BOOSTED Tyler into middle school....EEEK!!!

Tyler's first swear word....

Tonight in the car, Tyler said his first swear word, naturally and without even really questioning that he shouldn't have said it...Kelsi hit him with her baby and he shouted at her, "Stop Kelsi, you just hit me in the frickin head!". It was just apparently something that he had heard us say, and he just began using it! When I told him that he just said a naughty word, that we call those swear words, he responded, "Ok, I won't say it a-frickin-gain" and then smiled...The kid is seriously a riot...I am in tears just typing this right now!

Weekend mornings...

A typical Saturday or Sunday morning in our family....some couch time/tv time and maybe an errand or two! Kelsi usually goes with Dada to get coffe from his favorite shop and then they come back to eat breakfast and play! 

His favorite meal of the day...

Two simple pictures that were taken in February of 2011 (in the hopes that I was going to do a picture a day type project!), but I am so happy to have them! This is SO Tyler....He is eating his favorite meal of the day - breakfast - drinking milk (that he chugs) and he is wearing one of his favorite items of clothing...a zippered hoodie...Everytime he puts a hoodie up, I feel like he is such a big kid! Although this picture was taken almost a year ago, it could be taken again tomorrow (with a much nicer kitchen as a backdrop!)!

The wrong jeans...

One morning last February, Tyler got dressed, came down and started eating his breakfast...He mentioned that his jeans felt tight. When I looked over, I couldn't believe it...he had SQUEEZED into Kelsi's jeans and thought that they were his!!

Capture it all...

Since the kids were babies, I have photographed it all...the good and the bad...Whenever I photograph the "bad" Douglas will always tell me not to take a picture....He will say that we don't need them photographed as they are having a meltdown, but I capture it anyways! I think that when we look back, we will giggle and reminisce at what they "used to do"....These pictures were taken last February, but as we just start December, this still happens!! Kelsi will refuse to calm down, or she will refuse to stay in time-out at the bottom of the stairs, and then Douglas will carry her to the top and lock the gate...Back in February, she would just scream and cry.....now she does a bit of that, and then quickly starts repeating, "Am I done? Can I come down?".  Even though we are still in the midst of this, it is already so cute to look at!!

Dinosaur obsession for 4 year!!

After 4 years of being obsessed with dinosaurs, I realized last February, that I have never taken pictures of Tyler with his favorite toys! We lined up a few (of the hundreds that we have) and grabbed a couple pictures! Just before Tyler turned 6 in October, his interests really transitioned to Power Rangers and Pokemon...Dinosaurs were OUT for a couple months, but they just came back in!! Luckily, I pulled all of the dinosaurs out of the TRASH before Douglas threw them out!! Don't ASK me what he was thinking....I knew they would make a come back!

Just one snowy favorite!

I had to include just one more snowy favorite!! I just love this one...

Crazy Kelsi...

As we enter the winter months here in MA, I had to share a few pictures of my crazy girl from last February 2011!  We did a little shoveling after coming home from Pat's house! She gave Kelsi that hand-me-down coat that way and Kelsi just HAD to wear it that instant!

Tyler's love of technology...

Tyler's love of technology got into full swing in 2011...He loves his leapster, tag reader, clickstart my first computer and now the REAL computer...he loves to go online and play games at pbskids.org or any other site that has kids games modeled after his favorite tv shows. He loves Trevor's DS and now he loves Angry Birds on our Iphones (that is new this fall)... He even loved the Wii at Bennett's house on Thanksgiving! I am sure that this love of technology will only get stronger next year!

Playdate at Erin's New House!

Last January, we had a get together at my friend Erin's (new!) house...Erin and I used to teach together. We have a lot in common to this day, and could literally chat for hours....We stayed most of the day (while our floors were being worked on during the kitchen remodel), and we could have stayed for days! It has been almost a year since we got together and it feels like just yesterday! The kids played really well together and Kelsi was in love with their new addition to the family!

What naptime USED to look like...

It is crazy to me that just a year ago we were still doing naptime (some days) and rest time on all of the rest! Just one short year later those days are gone!  I just love looking back on these to see how little she looked in her bed! She is a couple inches taller now but seems SO much bigger because her vocabulary and thought process have made dramatic jumps in these last couple months of Oct/Nov. 2011...Turning 4 has been a big jump for her:)!

Matching!

Looking back to last January, it was the start of Kelsi dressing herself! During this year, she has become extremely independent at wanting to dress herself and attempt to match it herself (they both have stripes so they "match" of course...right?). She has become SO much better at matching, than in the first two pictures! This was also the start of wearing Mama's shoes and slippers daily! She loves to put on any pair of my shoes that she comes across!Almost one year later and her interests haven't changed much...she still loves her babies!

Hide & Seek Stuffed Animals...

Last January we used to play Stuffed Animal Hide and Seek! We would gather a bunch of stuffed animals and I would hide them...they would have to run around and find them! Then they each took a turn hiding them on each other! I see this game coming back out this winter too!

Last January hands...

I have spent part of the day organizing pictures and starting a year-in-review book and came across these two pictures from January...11months ago...The top picture is Kelsi's hand on mine, and the bottom is Tyler's hand on mine...so little yet growing so fast!

(Seeing out old kitchen in the background makes me a little sick too!)

She...

1. She is three years and eight months old.

2. She gets her nails cut by her Dada (after he does the baths!).

3. She declares, "I used my brains", when I tell her that she is so smart.

4. She giggles uncontrollably every evening when silly hour sets in.

(A post that got started and never finished...just had to include it now!)

Out of Tyler's mouth...

While trick or treating, we took a break and let them each choose a piece of candy to eat...Tyler chose a Baby Ruth and while he was eating, Douglas kept saying, "Umm, I loved Baby Ruths, they are SO good." over and over again. Tyler appeared to not be taking the hint because he wasn't offering up a bite. That is when Douglas said, "I haven't had one in about 15 years, I wonder what they taste like." and without any hesitation, Tyler said, "They taste EXACTLY like they did 15 years ago!".....hysterical!

Tyler @ 6...

• Loves to sing along with show songs and radio songs even though he is one second behind!
• LOVES soccer and is a fantastic defensemen.
• Absolutely obsessed with Pokemon.
• Dinosaurs were kinda out and Power Rangers are in, but dinosaurs have made a comeback this week!
• Learning to ride his bike and LOVES it (with training wheels still).
• Breakfast is his favorite meal - he chows!
• Is sincerely thankful for anything that you do for him or give to him.
• Loves to compliment people on anything -their clothes, their hair, anything!
• Loves Kindergarten and the bus!
• Loves to tell us what everyone else has done wrong that day.
• Loves to play games on the Intertnet
• Loves to watch Pokemon, Power Ranger, and Wild Kratts.
• Has become so much older...Has bigger boy interests and attitudes - He just said the word "bored" for the first time in his life, but was using it wrong - he was using it in the place of "frustrated" when he couldn't get the bike going!
• Likes to have a "down-time" day on the weekend...He can be a home-body!
• Is very outgoing - talks to any kid in the store or at the bus stop. He has no fear, he just jumps right into what they are doing!
• He weighs 43 pounds and is just over 43 inches (he has grown an inch since June).

Kelsi @ 4.4....

• Still loves babies (and her stuffed animals)!
• Loves to ride in the pull-along child seat when we go for bike rides - isn't really interested in focusing on her bike right now!
• Loves dance class - Has some trouble focusing in dance class, but she loves that she gets to go every week and that it is HER thing!
• Likes to do puzzles.
• Loves to tell us what the other kids are doing wrong in Pre-school and at the YMCA.
• Still loves to go, go, go! Doesn't ever need a "down-day" or even an hour for that matter!
• Is learning nursery rhymes at school and likes to try to say them and show us the moves that go with them.
• Likes to do projects with Mama - craft projects, cooking, or even organizing and cleaning the house/basement!
• When she isn't involved in a project she is usually walking around aimlessly OR wants to eat.
• LOVES to snack ALL day long.
• Makes the most adorable faces and movements when she is talking.
• She is a total hand talker just like her mama!
• Has become such a big girl - there really isn't any baby/little girl left in there!
• Has been saying, "yes maam" randomly!
• Has also been calling us "darling" and "sweetheart"...I am thinking that the YMCA ladies must say that to her!
• She weighs 32 pounds and is 39 1/2 inches tall (she grew almost 2 inches since June).
• She LOVES to shop with Mama and help check out.
• She calls me her best friend and wants me to come to college with her.