Simon Says...

Zoey and Grandma were playing a game when it was time to clean up. So Grandma, trying to make clean up more like a fun game, decides to play, "Simon says".

Grandma: "Zoey, Simon says, clean up this puzzle."
Zoey: "Simon says, Grandma clean up everything."


Lovely. It is hard not to laugh at her cleverness.

Tooth Fairy

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I am so excited!! I lost my first tooth. I was so proud of my wiggly tooth, and now I get to show everyone my empty space!! My grandma made me a special pillow with a pocket, so I put my tooth inside and laid it on my bed. My Daddy said he would call you to let you know about it. See, I am only four years old, well, almost five, and so I wasn't sure if you would know about me and my tooth yet. Anyway, I heard that you come and take my tooth away and replace it with money... I immediately asked, "how much." I will accept bills or coins. I wanted to try and stay up to see you, but I guess it doesn't work that way, so I am off to bed. Thank you.

Love, Zoey

p.s. it is summer, so I have been going to bed LATE, so don't come by too early, I don't want you to miss me sleeping!!

Sunflower girl

Here is a picture of Zoey and her sunflowers. She said she wanted to plant seeds, so we went to the store, she picked the seed packet herself and then she planted the seeds all by herself as well. They just started to bloom. She put another random seed in a different pot across the yard. Good thing I didn't pull the "weed", it has bloomed as well. She is very proud of them. They (the flowers and girl) are so pretty, don't you agree?

Max's Birthday Pictures

Max really likes Blue's Clues, so we made him a "clue" cake. For those of you who don't know, it is supposed to be a pawprint!!




Here he is taking a big bite of cake, surrounded by new toys. He didn't want to eat his favorite Mac-n-cheese dinner at all because of the new toys!! But he did have some cake.


Here is Zoey with the balloons. Ross came home early from work, and I took Max outside while he and Zoey blew up balloons and put streamers everywhere. He ran back in and kept saying, "A party, A party, Happy Birthday" Zoey put up streamers all by herself, too. You can see some in the background.




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Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day!

Here is a favorite picture of me and my dad:





And here is Ross and his dad (with a little Zoey):



Thanks to our Dads, we love you. Enjoy your day!

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And to Ross...You are a great Daddy. Thank you. I love you.

Here is Max and Ross in their matching shirts...



Here is an old one of Ross and Zoey, but so sweet.




At school Zoey made a bookmark for Ross and her teacher asked her questions about her Daddy. This is what it said,

Ross. I'm not sure how old he is. He likes salad with dressing best. He works at his work. He writes something. He gets paid nine dollars, then he pays for the mom. I like to play all the animal toys with him. I love him a lot.

And to all Father's... wishing you a special day. Especially Bryan. I know you are so missed by your family. We all love you!

STOP the Train....

I may have mentioned before that Ross and I keep telling the kids that we want them to stop growing and getting older... Just stay the age you are, please! At least for a little while. Realistic? Of course, not. And the kids certainly aren't listening. But as each new stage comes we realize how much better it gets. That is how it seems for us anyway. As we get to know them and their personalities even more, and learn about their views of the world, it just makes us enjoy them more as well. BUT... this week Max turned 3 (I will post pictures and video soon, promise) and then Zoey got her first loose tooth!! I was so surprised because I didn't think it would happen until she was 6 or so. (She is 5 in September) So I called the dentist and she had a quick checkup. She sat so well for the X-ray and all is normal. You could see her two big girl teeth in the X-ray pushing through, so everything looks good. I just wasn't prepared. I mean, I realize it isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, it just kind of took me by surprise and is kind of a bittersweet moment. And I guess we aren't really too shocked, it is not unlike Zoey to be EARLY in everything. It is her personality to get up and go, go, go... none of this baby stuff to slow her down!! But for a mama's sake, Zoey, could you maybe not stop the train, but slow it down, a little??

The other day she told Ross, "I like it when you call me Zo, it is a cute nickname." She even signed in at school "ZO". All I have to say is, thank goodness we still aren't calling her "Widget".

As with everything in parenting, my mantra is, "THIS TOO SHALL PASS." Not original, mind you, but so, so true, for all things, good and bad. I try to remember this each day and savor the sweet moments.

For Max...

Three years ago tomorrow, (I just couldn't wait) an 8 lbs. 7 oz little boy was induced early so that his big sister would always have the claim of being the bigger baby!! We can't believe you are THREE already little buddy. We love you so much. You make us smile all day long and we are so proud of you. Happy Birthday!!

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College talk

Like most kids her age, Zoey does not want to got to bed at night. She takes her time getting ready and often tries to stall the process. Her latest attempt at getting us to allow her to stay up is to simply tell us that she is not tired. Logical enough. I mean, if you aren't tired, why should you go to sleep, right? So a little while ago, Ross was putting her to bed and I heard this:
Z: But I don't need to go to bed, I am not tired.
R: Zoey, we all go to bed every night. You need to sleep.
Z: But Daddy, I don't need to go to bed, I am not tired.
R: Okay fine, when you go to college, you can stay up all night and not go to bed.
Z: When do I go to college?
R: When you're 18.
Z: But, I want to go to college NOW!!

The next night, I was putting her to bed and we were talking about summer break and going to kindergarten and she tells me, "Mommy, after kindergarten, is it college?" I explained the whole school system and figured we were done with it.

So that was a couple of weeks ago. Tonight I was putting them to bed and although Zoey still puts up a good argument, she stays in bed, and is helpful in trying to get Max to stay in the room. Tonight, in her attempt to tell him that things won't always be so bad (you know, evil parents forcing bedtime on young ones), she told him at least she gets to go to college in 18 minutes and then not go to bed. A little time confusion on her part, but I am glad to know that she is looking forward to her future college all-nighters!

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