Fourth Quarter Review

It's been a long, long time!! The truth is, I am just plain lazy. My laptop bit the dust several months ago and sometimes it's just too hard to actually walk into the next room and sit down at a desk and blog at Mas' computer. I was very accustomed to blogging from my comfy bed with my computer in my lap (which is what Mas says made my computer croak in the first place, but whatever). Anyways, I thought before the year was through, I could at least do an update for October before I forget what went on. So here is a quick run-through.

Saylor was a precious little ladybug for Halloween. We got to take her to Storybook Forest, which is a walk-through outdoor forest that has storybook characters handing out candy. She had lots of fun! My mom was here with Saylor the last 5 days of October so she also got to take her trick or treating--once to the zoo and once around the neighborhood.

Mas and I took a fabulous trip ALL BY OURSELVES to the lovely city of San Francisco. This was the first vacation we've taken since we got married 4 1/2 years ago. It's funny how life happens and 4 1/2 years seem to pass so quickly. We had an amazing time! We stayed in fab hotel, ate DELICIOUS food, saw lots of great things, and really really enjoyed each other. We missed our little ladybug like crazy...really...the last day, I wasn't sure if that plane was ever gonna land, and I couldn't wait to kiss her sweet face. However, it was soooo unbelievably nice to get away. Thanks again, Mom, for coming to OK to hang out with Saylor!

(The house that the first season of Full House was taped--AWESOME!)

(The Full House house along with the other "Painted Ladies" and the SF skyline)

(Haight Ashbury was quite interesting! I didn't get a picture of all the people smoking joints freely along the sidewalks)

(Golden Gate Bridge on a rainy day)

(The cable car we rode)

(the width of ONE cable that suspends the GG Bridge)

(Alcatraz)

(Napa Valley--Yountville)

Rock-a-Bye Baby

I'm writing to say farewell to a very special stage of our lives: rocking our baby before bed. About six months ago, it was pretty obvious that Saylor was over the whole rocking at bedtime thing, but she still kindly obliged because I would ask so nicely if she would come snuggle with her momma. She would fold her long legs up into a fetal position so that her legs didn't hang too far off the chair and we would rock and sing a few songs before I put her in her bed. Actually I would usually sing one and then she would sing it back to me. She would say "you don't sing it again, I sing all by self". But for about the last month--since we put her in her toddler bed--she's been just too big to cuddle in our laps and rock. Now we finish praying and she just runs and hops in her bed.

I loved rocking her. Well, usually. Of course there were the nights when she was smaller that she had fussy nights and I couldn't wait to put her back in her crib so I could put my own zombie body back to bed. Those are the nights I carefully watched her fall asleep and then contemplated if she was in a deep enough sleep that I could maybe slowly tiptoe her back to her crib without waking her up and starting the whole exhausting process over again. What I wouldn't give to have one or two of those nights back. Just occasionally!! Nothing like a sleeping baby in your arms!

Now she's big and independent and I absolutely love this stage too. I just miss rocking my baby!

Please, Please Pray!

I did not know Leslie personally prior to this, I just had the pleasure of being her nurse for a short time. I honestly cannot think of a more devastating situation. Her husband lost his first wife a few years ago from breast cancer and his three children lost their mother. Please take the time to read her blog and pray for this sweet family. They desperately need to be wrapped in prayer!!
lesliejoyevans.blogspot.com

Llama Llama Did NOT Miss Mama!

Saylor did wonderful last week at her very first day of preschool. The whole drive to school my stomach was in knots and I just prayed and prayed for her to feel safe and secure and have so much fun! He surely answers prayers!! Mas and I dropped her off and there wasn't a tear shed (although her momma got a little teary-eyed). I only thought of her about 23 million times throughout those 6 hours until we got to go pick her up....and I was thoroughly surprised again. Her teachers said that she never cried! My very cautious child didn't cry on her very first day of preschool?! Hallelujah! They also said that she was so sweet, ate very well, and talked A LOT! Of course I know those things, I just wanted her to be sweet at school as well! I am so proud of my little preschooler! And she can't wait to go back, which I am so thankful for.

*As an added bonus--my hubby and I got a date day while Saylor was in school. He took me to breakfast and to see a movie! Great day all around!

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine

Here is Saylor singing You Are My Sunshine. She is definitely my sunshine! :)

School is around the corner....

Thursday we went to Saylor's open house for preschool. She met her teachers and saw her classroom. She starts Wednesday. I am really excited and anxious for her....and me. I'll share pictures after Wednesay morning.

I saw this poem and maybe it's just the emotional momma in me talking, but I thought it was so sweet!
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
She started school this morning
And she seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside her
In the preschool hall.

And as she took her place beside
The others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw her as
She first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When she began to talk.

My eyes were blurred, so hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar her first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with her
And keep her by the hand
To lead her through the places
That she couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew she would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But she must have her chance to live,
To work her problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn is
What life is all about.

And I must share my little girl
With friends and work and play;
She's not a baby anymore-
She's in preschool today!
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Saylor is now also sleeping in a toddler bed!! She was still doing great in her crib, no escape attempts or anything--but we just decided it was time. She still calls me in there to get her out of bed when she wakes up. She hasn't quite figured out she can get out by herself and have a hay day yet. I hope she stays naive for long, long time!

Sleeping in her "big girl bed" and starting school this week--my baby is growing up so fast!

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend we made our way to Midland, Texas to attend my cousin's wedding. We traveled about 1,000 miles in just 3 days. It was a little exhausting, but well worth the trip, and we we fit as many friends and family as we possibly could into that small little window of time.

We stopped in Amarillo to stay one of the nights. We saw my grandparents and our dearest friends Ross, Missy and their two boys Reid and Max. Saylor and Reid love each other so much and it just thrills me to watch them together. Seeing Ross and Missy makes me desperately miss Amarillo and all the fun our families used to have together. Maybe someday we will be reunited :)

(I know this picture is blurry, but I think it is just so cute of them yelling at the football game, holding hands.)

Saturday morning we headed through Lubbock to see Mas' sister, Angel (who is due to have our precious niece next week), brother-in-law Francois, and our sweet nephew Zach. We also got to see Mas' mom, Meme, which was a total surprise!

Sweet cousins

Saturday night we celebrated my cousin saying "I do". It was a beautiful wedding and it was so nice to see so many family members. We all had a great time and Saylor made herself at home on the dance floor during the reception. She kept telling me she wanted to dance with the pretty girl in the white dress. (I unfortunately don't have any pictures from the wedding--I'll post some after someone emails me what they have.)

Sunday morning we started the long, long drive home. Saylor did FANTASTIC!! Not a tear was shed, not a whine was heard the entire weekend in the car. I am so proud of my little traveler! Her attitude may have something to do with the awesome DVD players my very handy hubby installed in the headrests a few months ago, but whatever it takes....

August Wrap-up

Ok, so it's the last day of the month and I haven't posted one time. I've been a lazy blogger. I really don't have any great pictures or anything super exciting so I haven't felt the urge to blog. Here is our August in review:
~Mas celebrated a birthday at the beginning of the month. We didn't do anything too exciting, and he actually worked that day.
~My parents came to town for about 4 days and we had lots of fun. We packed a lot of fun family outings into a long weekend and it was great! And I took about 2 pictures I think.
~Our dog, Samson got very, very sick with acute pancreatitis. Who knew dogs got that? It was terrible, but after many meds, some TLC, and a pretty hefty vet bill....he has fully recovered and is back to driving me crazy and entertaining Saylor.
*That's all I can think of at the moment--super exciting month, hu!

Also, I thought I would share a few of my favorite recipes. One is my favorite because it's super easy, the other because it is super YUMMY!

Southwest Chicken in the Crock Pot--easiest recipe ever!
You will need:
-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-1 can of corn
-1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 jar of salsa (we use Clint's Texas salsa in Medium--because we buy anything that says Texas on it. Ha! But it is almost to spicy for Saylor)
-1 (8oz) pkg of cream cheese

Place chicken breasts, corn, beans, and salsa in crock pot. (I add in some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and usually chopped onions.) Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Then stir in cubed cream cheese and cook for another 20-30 minutes, or until cream cheese is thoroughly mixed throughout. We serve it over rice, but we've also discussed putting it in tortillas and making tacos out of it. SUPER EASY, SUPER YUMMY!

Paula Deen's Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding--yummiest recipe ever!
-1 box of nilla wafers or pepperidge farm chessman cookies
-1 pkg cream cheese
-1 can of sweetened condensed milk
-1 (5 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding
-2 cups of milk
-about 6 bananas
-12 oz of cool whip

Line 13x9 dish with cookies and then a layer of bananas on top.
In a bowl, combine milk and pudding mix and blend well using hand held mixer. In another bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese--mix until smooth. Fold Cool Whip into cream cheese mixture. Add cream cheese mixture to pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour mixure over cookies and bananas and cover with remaining cookies or bananas--or both. (I do bananas on half and cookies on half because Mas doesn't like bananas in his BANANA pudding and I don't necessarily love soggy cookies:)
ENJOY!

Some Singing, Saylor-isms, And A Shout-out

Saylor's microphone is a toilet paper holder that I use for extra rolls in our guest/Saylor's bathroom. I don't even know how she knew to associate it with a microphone...but she all of the sudden felt the urge to sing into it. So, here is one of her songs. I need to record all of her regular songs that she sings before she starts sounding too much like a big girl.

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*Saylor's new thing in the mornings is to yell "Mooooooommy, tan you pease tum wake me up!"

*Saylor told me the other day "Mommy, you have a big bobo, I have a little bobo. Mommy has big legs, I have little legs." Really....of all things you picked those two to compare. Awesome! Way to make a girl feel good!

*On Monday Saylor was begging her daddy not to go to work and stay home and play with her. Mas tried to explain to her that he has to go to work so we can pay for our house, our cars, give money to Jesus, and buy her toys. All he had to do was mention toys and she said "Ok, Daddy, you go to work now. Bye bye!"

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Yesterday, my amazing husband and I celebrated 4 years of wedded bliss. I know I say this all of the time, but I am beyond thankful for him. And I'm so thankful that the Lord thought that I somehow deserved this wonderful man as my husband! He's everything and much much more than I ever dreamed of in a husband and partner. Looking forward to many more wonderful years, babe!

Where the Wild Things Are

Mas and I took Saylor to Arbuckle Wildnerness last Saturday. It's about an hour and a half drive--halfway to Dallas--a perfect day trip. We thought Saylor would really enjoy seeing and feeding all of the animals, but the truth is that Mas and I probably had way more fun. Saylor really enjoyed it too, though. It's basically a drive thru safari and you buy feed to give to all of the animals out of your car (they also have a walk thru area and go carts--but it was over 100 degrees that day, so we skipped on that). We actually went through twice because we didn't get enough food the first time. Most of the animals are just roaming around free. The giraffes, buffalo, rhinos, and wolves are "behind bars". Giraffes are my absolute favorite and I got to be literally face to face with them and feed them out of my hand. It was AWESOME!! They are so beautiful--especially up close. Our God sure was so creative when he made all of these animals.

We weren't giving the zebra pepsi, the feed just came in those cups. And those animals were sneaky and would grab ahold of the cup and try to rip it out of your hand. We were trying to save some food for the next group of animals and they weren't having it. One camel took a whole cup of feed from Mas in about 2 seconds.

The zebras were so beautiful as well! (Although I think they may need to see a dentist!)

We had a blast and will definitely make the trip again!

SAYLOR 2.5

My sweet pea is two and a half today! That's just six months away from THREE!

Miss Priss is definitely going to be tall like her daddy. She wears mostly 5T shirts, 4T pants, and size 9 shoes! How can that be? I refuse to buy little girl clothes. I want a T behind those sizes for as long as possible...although I don't think that is going to last much longer for her.


She is completely potty trained during the day. Still far from it at night.


Her favorite books right now are Silly Tilly and Fancy Nancy.


Favorite food is still fruit and cheese....and goldfish.



She NEVER gets tired of Sesame Street, but will now sit still for Imagination Movers as well.


She starts preschool in the fall. Just one day a week for now. I'm so excited for her and so heartbroken for me at the same time.

She's fun and silly and loves to make us laugh. She loves to learn, loves music, loves to eat, loves to be outside, loves water, loves the trash truck, loves for her nails to be painted, and really, really loves her daddy. She's so darn sweet and loving sometimes that I just can't stand it. She talks or sings non-stop all the time. And I mean ALL THE TIME.

2.5 years with this little girl have been the very best of my life!

OK-A-HOMA

Here is a cute video of Saylor in all her nakedness--I asked her several times this afternoon if I could put a shirt on her, she declined that request.

She has the greatest memory. We can talk about something one time and she will remember it....for weeks and months later. She learned all about Idaho from Kellen and Tana because she was over at their house the day they were teaching Averey about Idaho.

A little sunshine

Some of the bright spots of my day:

*I got to wake up at 8:30 this morning, instead of 5:00 like I have the past two days for work. And work was CA-RAZY. So I was so excited to wake up late and to a sweet little voice. Even though that sweet little voice did say "Tome here mommy, I pooped!"

*Saylor completed her two weeks of swimming lessons today. She made LOTS of progress! Her class was just for beginners. They didn't actually learn to SWIM--just go under water, blow bubbles, kick, etc. Every day on the way there she would tell me she did NOT want to go under water, but that is the first thing her teacher made her do, and she did just great!

*I found a little bit of heaven in Oklahoma. It's called CREST MARKET. It's a lot like MarketStreet for you Amarillo peeps. We had nothing, and I mean nothing like that here. Our best fresh produce could be found at Walmart. That's how bad it was. Oh, and occasionally Target, but they didn't always have a huge selection. I'm so happy to have found a good place to buy fruits, veggies, and meats!

*My hubby is back on days for a few months. Hallelujuah! I love getting to have dinner as a family in the evenings, getting to watch movies with him at night, getting ready in my own bathroom instead of Saylor's so I didn't wake him up, and not try to keep a very vocal 2 year old quiet during the day while he tries to sleep.

*Saylor asked Mas a few days ago what his name was. He told her Tomás. She then proceeded to say that her name was To-Saylor and today she told me that my name was To-Mommy. :)

Saylor-isms

Thought I would jot down a few of the funny things Saylor has told me in the past week. I'm sure there are many more, but these are the ones I can think of right now. 2 1/2 is so stinking fun! She keeps me laughing!
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Tonight while I was washing Saylor's hair, she said "Mommy, what are you putting in my hair? Is that air conditioner?"
"Nope baby, just plain ol' conditioner."
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I wore a dress today (which I DO NOT do often). Saylor told me "ooooh Mommy, you look so pretty! You Tinkerbell!" Why, thank you Miss Priss, I'll take Tinkerbell any day!
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She now loves The Beatles--as in Ringo, Paul, etc. What the heck? So she will tell us "I want to listen to The Beatles". Then she will quickly scroll through the iPhone music and tell us "I am going to listen to the Orange Beatles". She calls them the Orange Beatles and the White Beatles based on their album covers in the phone. Silly girl!
*She definitely shares her love of music with her daddy. And she likes everything from Stevie Wonder to Lady Gaga!
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We were dancing to a Lady Gaga song a week or so ago and she asked me who sang it. So I told her. Then a few days later she was signing "Our God is an Awesome God" in the car and said very matter-of-factly "Mommy, this is Yady Gaga!" Um, I think she is a little confused!
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Today she was playing the guitar with her daddy and she looked at him and said "Daddy, I need a pickle!" Pick, Pickle--same difference!
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This kid needs LOTS of air conditioner for her hair--

look how crazy it is when she wakes up in the morning :)

We never know what is going to come out of her sweet little mouth!

Happy Father's Day Babe!

From the very beginning, she has had you eating out of her pudgy little hand!

Happy Father's Day to the very best daddy! We are very blessed to have you as the leader of our family. I couldn't imagine a better Christ-like example for our daughter.

You balance a lot of things, but always put her (and me) first!

Thanks for being so great! We love you so much!

Love,
Sarah and Saylor