Teaching him early!

Colton has always seemed obsessed with our dishwasher. I've gotten to where I'll only unload it if he's either sleeping or engrossed in whatever's on tv. Well, seems that all this time, he really just wanted to help! I always put all the sippy cup pieces on a dish towel next to the sink, to fully dry, before putting them in the cabinet. Well, today he reached in, grabbed a cup, and walked over and put it up on the counter! He did this over and over again until the top rack was empty! I guess I'll have to start giving my 17 month old allowance soon!

Big SALE!

I helped K clean the play room from top to bottom earlier in the week. I walked back through a few minutes later, to see this...
I was shocked! K is such an organized kiddo and hates a mess. I asked her what happened?! Calm as could be, she said, "Mo-om. They're having a garage sale."

I should've known. Duh mommy.

The Next Food Network Star!

So, it was one of those nights that Daddy was at work, Mommy was beat (what else is new?!) and the kids were hungry. I offered K a pizza Lunchable (usually saved for water park lunches, but it doesn't look like we're going to make it back out there before they close for the season) and she was super excited to be getting it for dinner. So her and brother were eating at the table and I was cleaning up the kitchen. She is such a chatterbox, I swear my ears hurt by the end of the day. I really wasn't paying attention, until I heard "you're tastebuds are going to love this one!" I stopped, and listened, not letting on to her that I was listening, afraid she'd stop. Turns out, she was pretending to host her own cooking show. I've mentioned before that K is a HUGE Food Network fan. She'd much rather watch that than anything else. She was working on stacking 2 pizza crusts, with sauce and cheese in the middle, teaching the viewers at home (i.e. brother) just how to do it. I started jotting down the things she was saying...
*This one is out of this world!
*Add your parmesean chesse and roasted garlic.
*Your tastebuds will love all of the seasonings.
*Most important thing to remember with the sauce- you can make smiley faces or hearts with them!
She even went to COMMERCIAL BREAK!!! I was dying! She promised me that she'd host another show for me this weekend and let me video tape her doing it, so stay tuned.
After dinner, she and C were in the playroom "cooking." It's now also his favorite thing to do! I was in the kitchen, writing everything she said as fast as I could...listen to these!
*Set that back on the warmer for now.
*Thank you, brother, for sqeezing the fresh lime. (He's quite the assistant! ;))
*Just rub the seasoning on with your hands.
*Throw the fresh veggies in the boiling water.
*Now go to the sink to wash all that goo from the eggs off your hands.
*Colton was making the bread. Looks nice and brown- perfect!
*Mommy, when I'm a Mommy, instead of cooking with my pretend food, I get to have REAL food!
After all of this, you'd think that she sees me preparing gourmet meals every day! I rarely cook, but really should do more of it since she enjoys it so much.

Girl Day!

Today Kennedie and I got to have a very special girl day! We left the boys at home and went out to Waxahachie to the coolest mosaic store! We each made our own frame...we were there for 3 1/2 hours...not many kids will sit that long for a craft. But she did and she loved every minute of it. She even learned how to use the glass cutter tool and was cutting her own pieces! Which meant Mommy got to work on her own piece! I'll post pictures of our masterpieces as soon as we get them grouted and sanded...she's waiting for me now...Colton's asleep, so it's time to grout!

Random cuteness...

Just like you never saw Kennedie without a bow, you'll rarely see Colton without hair gel! Couldn't you just eat him up?!



C playing with his friend Abby's piano/drum/microphone...he loves microphones! At least this one's not pink!



He was watching Kennedie play dress up with her high heels, and decided to get in on the action. He went to his room and grabbed 2 shoes...non-matching shoes, and brought them to me! He was so proud of himself! Then Kennedie decided to wear mis-matched shoes too...see her in the background?

Can she really be almost 5? Everything this kid does is food related (not eating, unfortunately). She just brought me a blender full of fake food, and told me it was a macchiato (Mommy's favorite Starbuck's drink). Then she went back and got a fancy saucer to put it on and said, "There. My tablescape's complete." Honest to goodness! How many 4 year olds do you know that talk this way? She was eating some yogurt the other day, and asked me if it was "Yoplait Light, Rich and Creamy." Seriously...we may need to cut back her intake of Food Network.

New tent!

We saw the cutest shark tent on clearance at Target last weekend, so we thought Colton would get a kick out it since he LOVES Kennedie's tent in her room. James started to set it up (with plenty of help from Colton, of course) and we realized just how big it was...7 feet long! Yes, it takes up his entire bedroom, but I don't have the heart to take it down yet. Here's some pictures of the fun! (The giraffe tube is one of those climb through tubes...another great Target clearance purchase!)

Almost September...

This summer has been so full! We spent (what seemed like) every waking moment at the water park, got great tans, and just stayed super busy. Now, we're talking about back to school clothes, picking out a new lunch box, and it's just hard to believe it's already time to get back into the fall routine. Ever since last year, September has been a dreaded month for me.

James left last June for California, and came home for one week of family time the first week of September, before leaving for Iraq. We took Kennedie to her first day of "school" and headed straight to the airport from there. I will never, ever forget the knot in my stomach that day. I will never, ever forget the helpless feeling I had when I had to finally let go of my husband outside of that airport, and drive home. Alone. Knowing where he was going. He flew to Iraq a few days later...on September 11th.

The past year has been so full of so many things. I had no idea what it would be like to try to fall asleep every night, with my husband half way across the world, seeing and doing his "hero work," as Kennedie said. I had no idea what it would be like to take care of my then 5 month old baby and 3 1/2 year old daughter and wonder if I was doing a good job. We said prayers for Daddy every night, sometimes in the car if we were sad and wanted some peace about everything. Kennedie, in that 3 1/2 year old brilliant brain of hers, knew that I needed to hear daily Daddy stories. She loved telling me all about her "Daddy polar bear" and how they would crawl around the house together, pretending to be polar bears, and her Daddy would let her "hide" under her to stay warm. Her Granny even took her to Build a Bear and she picked out a polar bear, named it "Daddy" and dressed it in Marine blues!

What's most surprised me though, is how differently people responded. I have such an amazing support group around me. I have an amazing family and close group of friends, who without, I would not have made it through. There were days, I would have to be coaxed out of the house, out of jammies, and almost scraped up off the floor. Without these amazing people, I could not have been the Mommy I needed to be. Then there's the people who simply chose to disappear from my life. People who I thought were friends. Good friends. People who I thought I could call for anything. People who I still to this day have not heard from. I hope and pray that if I ever know someone who was in need, that I would be a true friend to them.
Needless to say, this past year has been a trying one. I would not want to do it over again, but I do feel thankful for having gone through it. I know that I am stronger for having lived it. I see the beautiful, smiling faces on my precious children and know that I am doing a good job. My amazing husband is now home, safe, where he belongs. And Kennedie still, tells everyone she meets, that her Daddy is a hero...and he is. And this September will be better!

Really??

So, Kennedie and I were watching America's Funniest Home Videos today (one of her favorites) and there was a guy, wearing an apron, grilling. His apron caught on fire, and she says...
"Uh oh! Better bust a move! You're supposed to stop, drop and roll, man!"
Really? 'Better bust a move' didn't surprise me so much- it's from the Chipmunk Movie. But, man! She keeps us laughing!

Yes, I know...it's been awhile!

Well, I've heard from a few of you who want to see more pictures and/or hear the truly exciting stories of the Davis Household. I'm really going to give blogging another shot. I've promised myself to be better at downloading the pictures off the camera sooner (i.e. not letting them accrue to almost 400).

So, here's a few updates...
On Thursday, James and I had our 9th Anniversary! He had to work that day, but before he left for work (and before I got out of bed), he had left behind 2 dozen pink roses! They were gorgeous and K's feelings were a little hurt because her daddy didn't give her any roses. =( So, I put one in a little bud vase just for her and she was happy. Before James left for Iraq, our neighbors told us that when he returned, they'd like to treat us to a night at the Gaylord, as a thank you. James worked it out with them, and we had an absolutely gorgeous room there on Saturday...here's the view from our balcony!

It was absolutely amazing! We had dinner reservations at the most amazing steak house there...my filet literally melted in my mouth...it was awesome! Then they brought out this neat souffle...and it was YUM-O!

Here's a few from the 4th of July. We went to the parade in downtown Arlington that morning, then to the new Mansfield sports complex for fireworks that night. Colton took full advantage of the freedom to run!

We were SO glad to have our Daddy home with us this 4th of July to celebrate!

I'll do my best to keep up with this...

Wish me luck!
=)
K