Tutu TWO (a few days early)

Mommy guilt has set it...we will be out of town WITHOUT kids for Callie's birthday on Thursday (woot woot! and sob at the same time), so I'm doing this post now to make me feel better about missing it.  Hard to believe this little peanut is going to be two already.

Tiny Callie in the hospital.

 Meeting big bro for the first time.

 First birthday.

 Celebrating her second birthday early at Mima's house.

 Mmm...cupcakes.

 My bro got her this helmet, and she immediately asked, "Where's my bike?" Uh-oh. Probably need to get her one, huh? Poor second child.

 Cheering on the Jayhawks for March Madness.

 Two year check-up. 90%ile for height (not including top-pony), 55%ile for weight. Long and lean still!

 Park play during Preston's soccer practice.

 St. Patty's Day

Our little Callie Rose is something else. Always full of energy, always a spitfire. I've started writing down things I love about each kid in their own little book, which I will give to them some day. Here are some of the things I love about my Callie.

At 14-21 months: You smile at me every day in the morning. You eat cottage cheese with your hands and get it EVERYWHERE. You hug my leg.You turn your back to me, slowly back up, and plop down on my lap. Sometimes when you throw a ball, it goes behind you. Everyone is "DADA." You body-slam pillows. You love to hug/pet/try to sit on the cats. Your giggle makes me smile. You have no hair. You put your head on my shoulder when you are really tired. You say "AHHHHHHH" after taking a really big drink. You love to be Superbaby on my knees.You call  Preston "BOBBY." You are stubborn. You give me the stink-eye when you are in trouble. You walk on your tippy toes and giggle at yourself.

At 22-23 Months:  You love dip and eat it with your fingers. You love butter. You SOMEtimes say "Preston", but still call him "Bobby" most of the time. You love to read books at night. You love your lovey blanket. You love to go to Preston's soccer games and run around like a MADwoman. You play "Do I love you THIS much?" with me. You pose and say "cheese" for the camera. You do everything Preston does. Always. When I pick you up from Steph's you hug me and say, "MOMMY! HAPPY TO SEE YOU!" You love to paint. You wear a cape and mask and run around yelling "SUPA CALLIE! I'M SUPA FAST!" You play the piano and say "What's that song, Mommy?" and giggle when I make up an name for the song.  You push your doll in the stroller while clutching your purse to go pretend shopping for more dip. You love hummus and french onion dip, hence the shopping trips. You are opinionated about your clothes -- already. You FINALLY have enough hair for a top pony, and you love it! You say, "Wook, Mommy! My ponytail!" When I ask you questions about a book we are reading, you tell me wrong answers on purpose and giggle at yourself. You love to make people laugh. You talk in complete sentences. For real? For real. You like to stomp snow -- and eat it. You spin in circles until you fall down and laugh the whole time.You spend a lot of time in time-out, just like your big bro.

And, most importantly, you love me -- even with all of my faults as a parent.

Happy Birthday to you, sweet girl!! I couldn't possibly love you more.

Chatty Callie

It has been a verbal explosion over here recently with our Callie Buttons. She never seems to stop learning new words these days. I would say she has hundreds of words in her vocabulary now, and she has started stringing two and three together.  My favorite is when I ask her to do something and she says, "OKAY, MOMMY." I'm sure that won't last forever.  I also love when she walks into a room and says "WHA YOU DO-ING?"  Despite the tremendous increase in her word power, she still refuses to call Preston by his name. I'm pretty sure she'll always call him Bobby. Truth be told, I'VE started calling him Bobby, too.

The beginning of the video is just a typical evening here. The fun never stops!

Knoxville Trip June 2012

Road Trip!!! Boy was it a long one, but totally worth it to get to see family. 



 We left Tuesday morning, headed for St. Louis to see my college roomie, eat lunch, and then drive to Metropolis, Illinois, for a pit stop and some SUPER fun. The kids did well staying in the hotel, mainly because I INSISTED on getting two adjoining rooms. Won't ever do it any other way. Nice to be able to put them down and not have to go to bed at 8:00.  (And enjoy a beer. Or two.)

 Obviously, we HAD to go see the giant Superman statue in the town square. I do believe this is what Preston's Heaven looks like. He loved every second there.

 This seems about right, doesn't it???

 Super kids!

Look! Up in the sky! It's Superman's crotch! 

 Stopped at DQ for dinner. Does he look happy or what??

 This meal was one of my favorite parts of the trip- just a nice dinner together as a family.

 We left Metropolis Wednesday morning to head to Knoxville. I had commented about how you can tell how clean a hotel is by the color of your kids' feet after walking on the carpet. Needless to say, the place we stayed was FILTHY. So imagine my horror when I looked into the backseat and saw this.

 I can promise you that they didn't look like this for much of the trip, but it was nice while it lasted!

 We made it! Went to the pool for some fun before the rest of the crew arrived.

 Everyone else came on Thursday, and the cousins had a great time together.

 Awwwwwwwwwww

 Callie's first time swinging all by herself! She may or may not have landed on her head a few times, but hopefully she'll get the hang of it soon.

 Water table = the greatest invention EVER. Sara brought hers, and I bought one the second we got home. A great entertainer for kids!! (And Mommy can sit down. Yes, SIT DOWN!)

 Some beautiful trees I saw on my walks there.

 Friday night we went to Mary Nell's parents' lake house for some swimming, tubing, and dinner. Callie wanted to go have a snack and watch everyone through the windows.

 Who has two thumbs and is pumped for their first tube ride?

 Swinging with Mimi.

 Saturday night their neighborhood had a pool party/potluck dinner. The kids had a great time! (Minus Callie, who was a mess and had to go home less than 10 minutes in.)

 They even had someone making balloon animals- Preston is holding Marjorie's hand because she was scared of him...sweet.

 A sword! (Yes, it IS a sword. Nothing else.)

 The best pic I got of all the cousins. Pretty typical that my kids are the only ones not cooperating!

It was wonderful to be able to see everyone, and we really appreciate The Pruitts letting us invade their home. They were wonderful hosts, and a fabulous time was had by all.

Unfortunately, I did a terrible job getting video footage, but here is the small bit I managed to take.

 We left Sunday and decided to drive all the way home. Over 14 hours in the car isn't exactly a picnic, but we stopped in St. Louis again for a little breather. Thanks, Andrea, for letting us stretch our legs, eat, and destroy your house!

Yes, I'm tired, too. (Out of the 28 hours total we spent in the car, the two of them slept for maybe a combined 4 hours. I do believe we deserve a medal!)