The Osborne Family

playing "pool"

2012-02-03T15:35:00.004-06:00

since it is so warm (and a little rainy) today, Kate decided she wanted to play "pool". apparently this meant putting on our bathing suits and running circles around the house.

Kate found some baby sunglasses that she just HAD to wear!

run, run run!!

it's so much fun to have a sibling!!

special trips

2012-01-29T22:55:00.006-06:00

we had Mavs tickets a few days after getting back from Hawaii and I really did not want to leave the kids again for an evening so we decided, instead, to take them on some special mommy and daddy trips. Jack got to go to the Mavs game with daddy, Mike and Claude and Kate and I went to her very first movie - Beauty & the Beast 3D. the kids were a little hesitant to separate, but both were excited about their respective trips.

Guys Night Out - the Mavericks game

Jack did really well for the first half of the Mavs game - his typical stoic, take-it-all-in attitude, but was a little restless by the end of the half. Will thought this was great timing because surely they would have some fun half time show like always - a magic act, dogs catching frisbees, guys playing the drums - something to grab his attention again.

no such luck. it was 250 ladies doing a jazzercise routine. what?!

so that is when you resort to a little ice cream!

and he actually made it through the whole game!!

Girls Night Out - Beauty & The Beast 3D

Kate and I got dressed up in dresses (of course) and went to the mall for some dinner and a movie. she was so anxious to get to the movie that she raced through dinner and we were there before the theater was even open. so while waiting outside, she made a friend with 6 year old Scarlett. Scarlett had candy and popcorn and therefore Kate decided she had to have some as well.

so, of course, we had to go back to the concession stand for some candy and popcorn!

the 3D glasses. besides the 30 minutes of previews and commercials before the movie started, the glasses were my downfall. she wasn't a huge fan of the glasses and wanted to take them off after about 30 minutes. and that's when she got pretty squirmy. during one scary part, Kate climbed up in Scarlett's lap (because of course we had to sit next to her). Scarlett loved it - she just wrapped her arms around Kate and snuggled her. Scarlett's grandmother and I just laughed and let them be, but this only lasted about 10 minutes.

about an hour into the movie Kate turned to me and said, "it's time to go home now mommy." she was ready so I didn't fight it. I asked her a few times if she wanted to stay and see the whole movie, but she was perfectly content with what she saw and was ready to go home and tell Jack all about it!

nap time with daddy

2012-01-28T15:52:00.003-06:00

how sweet is this?!

and a little closer look

Kate had gotten in trouble during nap time and had to spend her nap in the pack-n-play in the guest bedroom. this sent her into total hysterics and she could not get herself in control. so daddy went in to try to help. looks like everyone got pretty calm!

babymoon

2012-01-26T15:28:00.001-06:00

this January we got to take an accidental babymoon. we didn't actually plan on taking a trip before the baby arrived, but we had bought a trip to Maui, Hi from a charity auction that we were planning on using for our anniversary. however, I will be 9 months pregnant for this anniversary and realistically, it will be another 3 years before we are able to take a week long vacation without kids. sooo, we bumped up the trip and took a week off after the chaos of the holidays and kids' birthday. and, in the end, the timing could not have been any better - I was so ready for some r&r.

I loved our hotel - it was right on the beach, had lots of good pools and great service.

here was my view in the mornings as I drank my tea and caught up on my Christmas blogging:

here was my view at the pool as I read my book and slept:

another great view - a sunset dinner on the beach:

we decided our trip could be wrapped up in two words - relaxing and glutenous. all we did was lay by the pool and eat. it was awesome!

the greatest part about the trip was the fact that we could facetime the kids. (is that an actual verb yet?) it's amazing that just 3 years ago, when they were born, this technology was not available. but on this trip, I could walk my phone to the beach and show them the sand, waves, ships, etc. while explaining it all to them. I loved showing them where we were and it was so great to be able to see their little faces as we talked.

the highlight of the trip was the one adventure we did - a helicopter tour of the Maui and Mulaki Islands. I have always wanted to go on a helicopter ride and I thought, there was no better place to do it than Hawaii! so, much to Will's hesitation, I booked us a trip and it turned out to be one of the coolest things we have done together.

the scenery pictures are not all-star quality because I didn't take my good camera and you are taking pictures through glass, but here are a few of them:

a few of the waterfalls

the north shore

this was apparently the mountains from the beginning scene from Jurassic Park

then we finished out the tour with the best seafood meal I have ever had at Mama's Fish House - a must do if you are ever in Maui!!

all in all, the trip was great! the travel time was tough while 5 1/2 months pregnant, but the in between was so worth it. and now, we have no choice but to start getting ready for baby #3 - no more procrastinating!!

more catching up

2012-01-22T09:48:00.009-06:00

I promise I am trying really hard to get caught up on both Christmas and Birthday posts so we can move on with 2012 and get ready for the next big arrival. As I get things posted, I am back-dating the posts so I will add the link here....

Christmas Morning

Christmas Memories of '11

New Year's Eve

conversations with the kids

Family Birthday Fun

one last surprise

ok, now I am officially living in 2012!!

half way there

2012-01-17T23:36:00.006-06:00

today was our 20 week sonogram so we are officially half way there to being a family of FIVE. holy crap!! that is the first time I have actually thought about it in those terms. I think I am still in shock that this is actually happening - again. I am so excited about going through the baby stage again (especially now that I sort of know what I am doing); it's the two toddlers/quickly-becoming-full-on-kids running around that I am not sure how to handle.

the official guess:

first of all, all the checks and tests went great and the baby looks healthy and developing on schedule. thank you Lord!! we did not officially find out the sex, but based on the sonogram session, Will and I are both officially guessing BOY. I had thought it was going to be a girl up until this sonogram (and obviously I am no sonogram expert), but we both have a hunch that we are having a baby boy. so there it is - in black and white.

Jack & Kate's response:

when I showed Jack and Kate the sonogram of the baby, sweet Kate immediately said, "What a cuuute baby mommy!". Jack's response was, "Why is it so dark in your tummy?" this is a perfect reflection of their personalities right now. Kate is so kind and loving and Jack is very thoughtful and curious. it's no surprise that Kate wants a little sister and wants to name her Belle while Jack wants a little brother and wants to name him Rocky. since Blue Ivy has now been taken, I guess we will add those to the list.

one last surprise

2012-01-16T23:37:00.007-06:00

today my parents showed up with one last birthday surprise - motorized cars! (have I mentioned how ridiculously spoiled my kids are??) not only did they get tons of toys, we celebrated for an entire week!

Kate got a cute convertible and Jack got a tractor-trailer.

It took a little while for them to learn how to navigate around dogs, bushes, trash cans, etc. - and then it really rocked their world to find out that they go backwards - but after a small dent in the garage and a couple of scared dogs, they picked it up pretty quickly.

I know the kids are going to absolutely love their new cars. And, good for me, it will entertain them this summer as I am tending to a new baby.

Thank you Nini and Papa!!

Birthday Fieldtrip

2012-01-16T21:43:00.008-06:00

The kids are so lucky that their birthday falls on the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr. As long as they are in school, they will always have a three day weekend either before or after their birthday. The bonus part is that daddy also gets the day off so we get to spend an extra day together celebrating!!

So, this year we started a birthday tradition to go on a field trip on our special "extra" day together. And this year we went to.... Lego Land!!

We had a fun time together riding rides, playing games and eating lunch at the always popular Chick-fil-a.

The boys got to check out the Mavs' all-star, Dirk!

Kate loved riding a Lego motorcycle

And they found Nemo!!

There was a clown fish in the fish tank and the kids went wild with excitement. They could not believe that Nemo was right there in front of them.

Both kids enjoyed the earthquake zone where you could build a tower and then try to make it fall down.

We also got to ride two rides, one of which was a flying bicycle that Jack now refers to as "his rocket ship". In fact, he has been asking to go back to his rocket ship ever since. It was a fun way to finally wrap up the birthday celebration.

And on another note, sweet baby #3 is due during Memorial Day Weekend which has the possibility of another holiday birthday weekend. Yeah!!

thank you Will!

2012-01-16T07:41:00.004-06:00

I wanted to take a quick minute to write a thank you note to my sweet husband. As I am writing this, he is snuggled up with Kate in her bed, where he has been since 3am. This is the second night in a row she has woken up crying and he has taken care of her each time. He let me stay in bed and sleep the entire night because I had had a rough night as well from pregnancy illness.

Thank you Will for taking care of our family in all the ways that you do. We really do appreciate it and certainly don't say it enough. We are lucky to have you as a father and husband!!

Dearest Kate

2012-01-15T21:40:00.020-06:00

My lovely daughter,

You are my sunshine - the light of my life! Your laughter, smiles, hugs and kisses are so infectious and genuine, it's hard not to smile around you. And boy do you love to laugh (just like your daddy); not just giggle but full on belly laugh. You actually look for reasons to laugh - a funny word, sound, or something silly that Jack, daddy or the dogs do. Your belly laugh is always followed by, "silly fill-in-the-blank!". But you are so much more than silly - you are smart, perceptive and your memory is fantastic. I can no longer trick you or pull one over on you. Nope, you remember and hold me accountable to everything.

You are stubbornly independent just like your mommy. You want to do everything by yourself (except pick up your toys) and therefore taught yourself how to completely undress and dress yourself from head to toe. I love to see the crazy, mismatched outfits that you wear, but please know that no matter what crazy outfit or princess dress you wear, you are absolutely gorgeous.

One of your greatest characteristics is that you are a thoughtful, caring, sincere young lady - you want to console anyone (even a stranger) that is sad, not feeling well or has a boo boo. You, in turn, love to be consoled - you make up boo boo's and fake cry just so I will snuggle you in my arms. You kiss my belly, tell me you love me, tell me I look pretty and ask me how I am feeling. You have a pure, honest soul and I know that you will be a great woman of God!

You are beautiful inside and outside my angel.

All My Love, Mommy

Dearest Jack

2012-01-15T21:39:00.017-06:00

My Sweetest Son,

You are such a delight, my love. I have enjoyed watching you transition from a toddler to a little boy. And you are such a boy - you are a curious, inquisitive little sponge. Answering your questions has become a real challenge for me because you have become very thoughtful with your questions, really thinking through my answers and trying to solve your problems on your own. You are so honest and sincere that sometimes I forget I am talking to a 3 year old.

Your boyish energy is entertaining and exhausting. Most of your time is spent exploring the backyard, jumping and running around the house or dancing and singing your rock songs. You are definitely the play leader of our family - making up games like chomping alligators, polar express, fireman rescue or making us all play in your rock band. But you are a very sweet brother and include Kate in all of your adventures. I know one day you will be a true warrior for God!

Your smile and funny faces bring so much joy to my life. I always know that I can get a devilish grin from you that can completely brighten my mood. One of my favorite parts of the day is catching you singing songs to yourself. If you are not asking me how something works, or what would happen if..., you are singing songs. You sing real songs (Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle, Thumbkin) and you make up songs about what you are doing - a wonderful play by play of your day in song - it's absolutely wonderful!!

By the way buddy, I think you are absolutely awesome!!

All My Love, Mommy

Family Birthday Fun

2012-01-14T22:42:00.016-06:00

We had a family birthday party for the kids tonight to celebrate the kids turning 3 years old!! We had a fun evening with lots of presents, sugar and play time with our family. I don't think you could ask for a better way to celebrate!

And a big Thank You! to my sister-in-law and my dad for taking a lot of these pictures for me so I could play with the kids! You guys did a great job!!

It was almost impossible to keep the kids out of the presents just long enough for everyone to arrive, so once everyone was there, we let them dig right in! Kate had so much fun opening the presents that Aunt Sue re-wrapped a few just to let her keep opening them - I don't think she had any clue that they were the same presents over and over. But don't worry, there was no lack in presents with this family. I keep trying to stress the "less is more" theory, but it hasn't sunk in yet =)!!

Presents overload - and this doesn't even include presents from Will and I!!

Jack was so excited, he climbed up on the couch to get a better view of all the presents. Kate just dove right in.

I think this boy likes birthdays!!

Then the cupcakes!!

Waiting patiently while we sang to them...

and blow!!

Kate does more of a spit than a blow - not as efficient.

Jack is wondering why it's taking Kate so long to get that last candle out. He eventually leaned over and blew it out for her. What a helpful brother?!

Yummy!!

Colored icing is SO much fun!!

Then we played with our family and our new presents!

Kate did keep her promise and wore her birthday shirt, but she was very excited to get a few more fancy dresses.

The guitars and piano were a big hit - we can now have a full rock band!

but it doesn't stop there...

Once again, we had very sweet family drive from Austin and Oklahoma City to celebrate with the kids. Thank you to everyone that came, we are so lucky to have such a wonderful, loving family!!

Starting the Celebration

2012-01-12T22:15:00.008-06:00

I promise I will finish posting Christmas at some point, but we have some more exciting stuff to show you. It's going to be a fun weekend around here as J&K turn 3 years old! So I am going to move on and after the birthday celebration is over I will finish up 2011.

It's finally here!! The kids have been talking about their birthday since early November. They were a little confused why Halloween only lasted one night, so I had to get them excited about the other holidays coming up. So, for the next two months, we have been counting down birthdays. First mommy, then Papa, then Baby Jesus and finally Jack & Kate!! So they are just beside themselves that it is finally their turn. So here we go...

We started the big 3rd birthday celebration week today at the kids' school. Will and I got to bring birthday cookies to their class for snack time. J&K got to wear birthday crowns and we all sang them "Happy Birthday!". It was so fun to see them in their school environment.

The birthday shirts:

About a week ago, they started asking me if they were going to get "birthday shirts" to wear on their birthday. Since I had never mentioned anything about a "birthday shirt", I am assuming they picked this up from a kid at school. And since this birthday is so exciting for them, I wanted to try to make it very special for them. I was buying a baby present for a friend this week and happened to find some precious birthday shirts. Then last night as we were talking about what was going to happen today, Kate asked if she could wear one of her Sunday school dresses to school since it was a special occasion. I told her that I had a surprise for her to wear and both of the kids exclaimed, "birthday shirts!!".

But surprise, surprise, Kate didn't want to wear her shirt this morning. She is a dress-only girl these days. And since it was her special day, I let her wear what she wanted.

Here they are all dressed up and ready for school in their birthday outfits...

And so the party begins...

new years eve

2012-01-01T23:00:00.000-06:00

Will and I both agreed that this new year's eve was definitely one of the most tame since we were about 18, but it still ranks as one of our all time favorites.

we started our day with a fun breakfast with family. then we took the kids to the arboretum to play with our cameras (another blog post). it was a fabulous day out and we had a great time running around, taking pictures and even got to meet Snow White!!

side note: even though Snow White is Kate's absolute idol right now, she was still scared to go up and meet her. there is just something about dressed up characters that Kate simply does not trust. not even a Princess!!

we played at the arboretum all the way up to nap time and then spent the afternoon dancing and playing around the house while mom and dad cooked a fancy dinner - steak and lobster! it was such a relaxed, fun evening.

Happy New Year!

even bedtime wasn't the typical struggle. I was on police duty and as the kids were just about to drift off to sleep Kate spoke up in her sweet little voice:

Kate: "mommy?"

me: "yes, dear?"

Kate: "happy new year!"

and Jack chimed in, "happy new year mommy!"

then Will and I snuggled up on the couch for a movie (actually it was me, will and Cooper - just like old times) and since this was our first NYE in this house, we were surprised with a fireworks show from Lakewood Country Club at 11pm. our movie ended just in time to watch the ball drop and countdown on TV. we high-fived each other for actually making it up late enough to see it and then went to bed!

playing with our presents

2011-12-31T15:47:00.005-06:00

today was an absolutely gorgeous day in Dallas, so we took the kids to the Arboretum to play with some of our new presents: cameras! both kids got a toddler camera and I got a new lens for Christmas and I think they are all a BIG hit!!

the kids having fun taking pictures of sailboats, plants and water fountains

and here are some picture that I took with my new lens (Thank you Will!)

Christmas Memories

2011-12-30T16:50:00.014-06:00

Fair warning to readers: this blog post has no pictures, just my memories.

Since my memory is already terrible, I wanted to document some of my favorite memories from this Christmas. In no particular order, here are some of my highlights:

*Little Drummer Boy - as we started reading our Christmas books, The Little Drummer Boybecame a quick favorite. not only could the kids sing it with us, they could play their drums and march around the house. we sang it several times a day as well as every night before bed. they started out just joining in at the "Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum", but by the end of the holiday, the kids could recite a lot of the verses from memory.

*The Christmas Story - our wonderful teachers from school wrote a toddler version of the Christmas story and read it each day, slowly starting to pause at the important words and letting the kids fill them in. they sent the story home so we could do the same at home. within a few weeks, J&K were talking about Bethlehem, shepherds, 3 wise men, etc. and soon, they could recite all of the important words. my favorite video is of Kate emphatically reciting the words to the Christmas story during bath time one evening. and my favorite part is when the angels are talking to the shepherds in the fields:
Mommy: "and the angels said..."
Kate: "no be afraid!"
Mommy: "why?"
Kate: "because we have great news"
Mommy: "and what is that great news?"
Kate: "baby Jesus has been born!"
and for some reason, she loved to scream the words - what a beautiful reminder of what Christmas is all about.

*Ernie the Elf - we started the ever-popular tradition of the Elf of a Shelf this year. we didn't make a huge deal about it because our focus was not on Santa, but the kids did have a lot of fun finding Ernie (so named by the kids) the Elf each morning. Jack was determined to touch him - always testing his limits - and this drove Kate absolutely crazy. she would scream and get hysterical until I stopped him. the most fun part was watching how excited they were when they realized Ernie came to Oklahoma City with us. and they asked about Ernie for at least two weeks after Christmas. they were so sad that he had to go back to the North Pole with Santa. I wonder if they will remember him next year.

*Jesus' Birthday!! - We went up to Oklahoma City for a few days to be with the Osbornes. And on Saturday (Christmas Eve) Pop and Jack were hanging out and Pop asked Jack if he knew what tomorrow was. We all were expecting him to say, "Santa comes!" But instead he answered, "it's Jesus' birthday!" Oh my goodness, I was so proud!!!

*In need of a ladder - Will came up with the idea to decorate a gingerbread house and I am so glad that he did. Although I cringe any time my kids eat sweets (I am fully aware that that is not normal), I tried to look away as we decorated the house with candy and icing. I am so glad we also bought a box of gingerbread people to live in the house. Almost immediately the kids started decorating people and naming them - Mommy, Daddy, Jack, Kate, etc. It cracked me up that Jack decorated one guy (this was Papa and Pop and sometimes Daddy) and stuck him up on the roof. Soon after he stuck him on the roof, Jack got worried that he had no way down. Instead of just picking him off the roof, he asked me to make the guy a ladder. I did and the guy never came down off the roof, but at least he could if he needed to.

*Joyful dancing - My favorite memory with our nephew was watching Jack, Kate and Henry dance around the Osborne's living room to Christmas songs. My kids love to dance and dance a lot, but it was so much more fun to watch them all play together. J&K did a pretty good job of including Henry and were very excited this trip that Henry is mobile and old enough to play with them. And like most dance parties, this one ended in dog piles!

*Anxious Dinner - Both J&K enjoy playing with dolls, probably more so knowing that we have a baby on the way, and a lot of our time is spent making food for the dolls, dressing them and having play dates. So when Sophia is around, the kids get excited that there is a real live doll around. At the Williams Christmas dinner, David offered to let Jack and Kate help feed her dinner. I was anxious about it and Sophia certainly seemed a little anxious, but both of the kids did a good job. They were gentle and listened and obeyed David which made me feel a lot better about poor baby #3 about to join our chaotic household. I think the kids are going to be really good helpers!

*Santa's Emails - A friend of mine told me about a website, The Portable North Pole, that will send your kids a video from Santa. The video is designed (with a little help from his elves) specifically for your child and includes pictures and information about them. Then the video gets emailed to me so I can share it with the kids. I SO, SO, SO wish I had been video taping the kids when they watched it the first time. They absolutely could not believe that Santa called them by name, knew how old they were and had a picture of them on our summer vacation. Jack was first and kept looking at me like, "can you believe this?" and answering Santa's questions with the biggest grin on his face. Kate could not wait to see her video and had the exact same reaction. Then is was a huge battle of waiting their turn to watch it again. I bet we watched the videos 10 -15 times over the holidays.

*Secretly playing - The kids are old enough now that there are times when they choose to play different things in different parts of the house. I always enjoy loosing track of a kid and wondering around the house to see what they are up to. 9 times out of 10, I find them playing with their dollhouse and fire station. I love to sit back and watch them play without them knowing anyone is watching them. It is the most innocent, sweet moment to watch their imaginations at work - just pure and honest 3 year old imagination.

Christmas with the Williams

2011-12-29T01:22:00.011-06:00

Christmas with the Williams was a little delayed this year because of an unfortunate case of the stomach bug on Christmas day. Poor Nini!! And since we had all been struggling with illness, we decided to give it a few days for everyone to be well before getting together.

But Christmas is not about a date on the calendar, it is about the time you spend with loved ones when together. So even though it was a few days late, we had a fun evening, good meal and more presents!!

Here are some of our fun memories:

piggy back wars

Jack & Kate wanted to help feed Sophia -

Sophia looked a little worried

but they did just fine!

horseback rides on Papa

some pretty happy kiddos

and that was before the presents!!

J&K were pretty excited to open some more presents

so excited that they wanted to help everyone else open their presents too

Kate got some furniture for her dollhouse

and Jack got some great stuff for his fire station - the yellow helicopter was his favorite!

another big hit was a magnetic Jack doll that you can dress up in lots of different sports uniforms

and of course, the cameras!!

what a fun night - thank you Nini, Papa, Aunt Sue, Uncle David & Aunt Missy!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T23:07:00.016-06:00

This Christmas was very important to me because I felt like it will be the first Christmas that the J&K remember and therefore I thought a lot about what kind of precedence I wanted to start for our family. Last year was my practice round and I learned A LOT - I did some things right and I did some things wrong and I wanted to learn and grow from those things.

Just a few of my lessons...

Lesson 1. As much as I would love to give my kids everything that they could ever want, I know it's not responsible in any way and it takes away from the focus of the season. From a totally practical, non-religious basis, I want our Christmas to be small for several reasons: 1. since we have a boy and girl, they automatically get double the presents because each kid gets a set of gifts 2. they have a birthday exactly 3 weeks after Christmas day 3. they are only 3 years old and don't need a lot of toys to make them happy 4. I certainly don't want them to think that they do need lots of toys to be happy and most importantly 5. as I said, I want our Christmas to be about Christ - as our pastor said, "Make Christmas about His Presence, not The Presents." So that leads me to lesson 2 and 3...

Lesson 2. Back to the religious aspect of Christmas. At this point, my kids don't really know or care about who Santa is and I like it that way. Of course there is no way to keep this from them in a completely material obsessed society that we live in, but I know as a mother, it is my job to keep my family focused on the real reason and joy of the holiday. So as we got closer and closer to Christmas morning, I tried very hard to keep our focus on the fact that it was Jesus' birthday and less about the presents coming from Santa. We played with our nativity scenes, read Christian Christmas books and read our Christmas story every night. Of course, when it came time to open presents, their child instinct kicked in and they loved every minute of getting toys, but I do think some of the religious basis did sink in - at least enough to build on each year.

Lesson 3. I am not the only one who wants to love on my children - they have grandparents and lots of aunts and uncles that love to spoil them too. As my first real "kid-based" Christmas, last year was so exciting for me. Who doesn't love shopping for kids and watching their faces light up as they open and discover new fun toys. But if you multiply this by parents, Santa, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends... the result: a house full of presents and three weeks to go until a birthday?! The lesson I learned is that I get to spoil and love on my children all year long, no need to go overboard during Christmas. So this year, I reined in my own desires and tried to spend more time with the kids instead of shopping for the kids.

So, needless to say, our family Christmas was very small - one present from Santa and a few small ones from mom & dad. In fact, Kate started crying when all the presents were opened and she asked where were the rest of the presents. I felt SO guilty and thought that I had taken my efforts too far. But Will reminded that she was only 3 years old, her reaction was an age appropriate response, and that I had done the right thing. Sure enough, two minutes later, she was over it and having fun playing with her presents.

All in all, I think this Christmas went a little better. I hope I did a few more things right than wrong and I hope to learn more for next year. Who knew parenting was going to be this hard??!!

Christmas morning pictures:

Jack playing with his fireman

Kate arranging furniture in her dollhouse

Jack's fireman coming to rescue Kate's dollhouse from a fire. Notice the other presents are still unopened?!

Kate LOVES to see pictures of her with her family so she got her own calendar this year

Kate concentrating hard on unwrapping

Since Little Drummer Boy was our favorite Christmas song, I thought Jack would love a drum. And he did.

For 2 minutes.

Until it broke!

So sorry buddy!! Thanks a lot Disney =(

Some fun books - Princess and Cars - personalized with J&K's names in them.

We almost forgot about the stockings...

Soon, (after Kate changed into her fancy dress) Kate was playing house with all her nativity characters.

And Jack was having fun with his Lego table.

What a fun Christmas morning!!

The Blooper Reel

2011-12-25T22:38:00.005-06:00

The day that we had an amazing photographer take some pictures of the Williams clan, Kate decided she would absolutely not smile. She has had this thing about professional photographers for awhile now - she knows when I am paying to have her picture taken and she completely refuses to smile (or even look at the camera for that matter).

So, I decided to take our Christmas card photos this year at the Arboretum (have I told you how much I love that place?!). She does a lot better if I am the one taking pictures and I actually got a couple cute ones and a lot of funny ones. Here are some of the Blooper pictures that didn't make the 2011 Christmas Card...

There was some dancing,

some hair pulling,

some ignoring me,

some choking,

and some frowns.

And of course, some cute ones that didn't make the cut.

By the way, here is the only picture that somewhat turned out from the photographer - notice Kate will have nothing to do with it!

Merry Christmas to you All!!

Santa Came!!

2011-12-25T10:50:00.001-06:00

It looks like Jack and Kate officially made it on the Nice list this year. If you ask me, there were some days when it was a close call, but yes, indeed, Santa found his way down our chimney this year!!

The stockings were full,

the cookies were eaten,

and he left two new toys for two great kids!

the fire station and dollhouse that the elves made for Jack & Kate:

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T09:50:00.004-06:00

Love,

Will, Emily, Kate & Jack Osborne

Cookies for Santa

2011-12-24T22:41:00.003-06:00

we drove back in town on Christmas Eve so we could be at our house for Christmas morning. that evening, we made sure to leave some cookies for Santa and for Ernie the Elf.

we left them our special cookies that we made with Nanny

this year's Christmas PJ's

Jack had a lot of questions about how Santa made it down the chimney - especially since this chimney was bricked in a long time ago. hmmm...

(this is where mommy is glad that the word 'magic' can pretty much answer any question)

and crazy enough, this was one of the very rare nights that the kids actually stayed in bed and went to sleep when we put them down. I think it was partly due to the fact that they were both a little sick and pretty tired from a fun weekend, but boy was it helpful for Santa's elves who still had some work to do!!

Christmas with the Osbornes

2011-12-24T01:21:00.027-06:00

we had a great few days with the Osbornes in OKC celebrating Christmas. thankfully I remembered my camera on this trip and took tons of fun pictures. our weekend was full of making cookies for Santa, playing with Henry, watching our uncles do toe-touches, visiting friends, snuggling with grandparents, opening the first round of presents, eating lots of treats, reading books, wrestling and searching for Ernie.

we started out weekend by making cookies with Nanny & Aunt Emily

Nanny had special aprons for J&K - spiderman and snow white

eating the left over sprinkles

the final product - thankfully they drooled and licked so much of these cookies that it was not hard to convince the rest of the family to leave them for Santa and Ernie. =)

the kids were so worried about leaving Ernie in Dallas. I told them that I left him Nanny & Pop's address and if they did really well on the car ride to Oklahoma, Ernie might come visit. sure enough, he made it! Friday morning he showed up in the kitchen and watched the kids decorate cookies - they were so surprised and so thrilled!!

while loading the bags in the car back in Dallas, I noticed that Kate had added some of her own items to their bag. such as her cinderella dress, crown, shoes, gloves, and purse. apparently she cannot travel without her princess attire. it took her no time at all to get fully dressed to show off her outfit.

we had a fun dance party with Henry on Friday night

J&K are so excited that Henry is walking and ready to play. I think they overwhelm him a lot, but he loves to jump right in and play!

fun pictures with family

Will making Henry crack up

Kate giving her wonderful kisses

and just like most dance parties, this one ended in a toddler wrestling match

which, in turn, quickly turned into a whole family wrestling match (well, the guys and kids)

we opened presents on Saturday morning

even Ernie was right in the middle of the action

a few of the highlights:

Katiebug got decked out with snow white stuff - she was in heaven!!

Aunt Sarah made Kate a rainbow of bows and a great way to hang them. I'm so glad I have a sister-in-law that is crafty and creative!

Pop made the kids an awesome Lego board that fits on their train table. I'm so excited about this because instead of adding another big piece of furniture in our house, this simply converts the train table that we already have into a Lego table that the kids can build on. Pop was so clever that he sanded it down, painted it and added handles for easy switching. Thanks Pop!!

thankfully the kids were given lots of Legos because their daddy was having so much fun building his own masterpiece

another fun Christmas treat was a dirt cake for Jack. since he is obsessed with everything dirt, Aunt Sarah made him his very own dirt cake to eat (which cleverly came in a flowerpot)!

it was a big hit with everyone

the Osborne cousins - Christmas 2011

after a long weekend, the kids were pretty pooped out and still a little bit sick so they took a good nap with Nanny and Pop.

thanks for a fun weekend, a great load of thoughtful loot and lots of great memories for the kid's Christmas.

Papa's Party

2011-12-19T11:24:00.005-06:00

we had a fun birthday party for papa tonight - they kids had fun playing with a Polaroid camera that my mom had found somewhere in their house, pretend talking on the phone, wearing Papa's new pj pants and helping my parents decorate their Christmas tree.

cheese!!

can you hear me now?

my parents had waited to decorate their tree until the kids came over to help them. I have to say that I gave them fair warning that it was a risky decision, but they assured me that they were only using non-breakable ornaments. ha! the first three ornaments that J&K picked up were quickly broken. nice ornaments and 3 year olds just don't go together well. oops!

we always love a good birthday party!!

Happy Birthday Papa!

2011-12-18T22:34:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to our Awesome Papa

We Love You,

Princess Kate

and Bubba Jack

gingerbread house

2011-12-17T23:30:00.005-06:00

Daddy had the wonderful idea to make (decorate) a gingerbread house this weekend. The kids were amazed that they were getting to play with candy.

the before picture:

mommy and daddy had just as much fun (if not more) decorating the house and at times, had a hard time surrendering to the whimsical, non-logical decorating style of the 2 year olds.

I would bet that less candy made it on the actual house than in their mouths...

we bought a pre-made house that all we had to do was slap some icing on it and add the candy of choice. we also bought a box of gingerbread men to "live" in the house. J&K decorated a gingerbread person for each of our family members and stuck them around the house.

Jack put one man on roof saying it was Papa and Pop, but then he asked me to make a ladder so he could get off the roof. He was so worried that the gingerbread man would have no way to get off the roof.

so I made a Twizzlers ladder so the gingerbread family could get on and off the roof. =)

the final design:

displayed for all to see

although the kids were WIRED after eating so much of the decorations, I think it was another fun family event that we can make a tradition. good idea Daddy!!

Where Are The Presents??

2011-12-16T15:41:00.002-06:00

The Trains

2011-12-14T22:36:00.004-06:00

We made our 2nd annual trip to Northpark tonight for the Train display and dinner with Nini and Papa. I think the kids remembered it from last year because when I mentioned it, they knew that it was "at the mall". Kate wanted to get dressed up for the occasion and wore one of her favorite dresses. Jack commemorated the event in his favorite pair of pants (which are about an inch too short at this point but he throws a fit when I try to take them out of the rotation).

headed for the trains

Jack was in heaven. He loved the trains so much that he stood in one corner and danced for about 5 minutes. I think that kid has a radio going on in his head at all times!

He was so excited to find Thomas the Train among the snowy mountains.

Even though Kate got to wear one of her fancy dresses, she was in one of her moods. Every once in a while she gets in a mood where she is real quiet, slightly grumpy and acts sad about something. She cannot verbalize what she is thinking so it's extremely frustrating as the parent to know how to help her out of it. She was bored with the trains in about 2 minutes, but she suffered through a while longer so Jack could enjoy himself.

I finally got a smile out of Miss Kate - well sort of =)

the Osborne's "meeting"

2011-12-10T22:36:00.005-06:00

We had a nice surprise visit from Nanny and Pop this weekend. Unfortunately, they came in town to attend a funeral, but we enjoyed our time with them none the less.

We all worked hard on Saturday afternoon to put up the Christmas lights - it was a beautiful day here and fun to be outside.

Unfortunately, it was SO sunny that pictures weren't really feasible, but I tried anyway...

It did not go over very well with Miss Priss!

I love this one of Pop and Katie snuggling =)

Funny note about the weekend:

When Pop & Nanny got all dressed up on Saturday morning, Kate was curious to know where they were going dressed so nice. I didn't really want to explain what a funeral was, so I just told her that they had a meeting to go to. Nanny had a much better answer for her and said they were going to church, but for some reason my answer stuck with her. So now, when Kate wants to change into one of her fancy dresses, she tells me she has a meeting to go to. =)

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

2011-12-09T22:46:00.000-06:00

and his red nosed mommy

Dressy Dresses

2011-12-08T21:48:00.002-06:00

My sweet girly girl has a new quirky obsession: dressy dresses. Her nicest Sunday school clothes are the only thing she wants to wear these days. And it's a strange outfit that includes tights, bloomers, a skirt, a dress on top of all that and topped off with a sweater. I tried to squash this new quirk by telling her that it is too cold outside to wear these dresses. So that's when she added a sweater and tights to the outfit. I have no idea why she wears the skirt under the dress, but it's always part of it!

Her new 'play clothes':

Due to this obsession, she has learned how to get herself fully undressed and redressed. I quit helping her with the many daily wardrobe changes a while back and therefore she taught herself. Socks and shoes included. I am actually very proud of her for learning this new skill, but it has made me have to give up this battle. The buttons on her sweater are actually the only thing she needs help with and she is so particular that she tells me how many buttons to button.

By the way, this little cash register is Kate's 'computer'. I have obviously done too much online Christmas shopping lately because one of her new games is to go get her computer saying she needed to "buy something". oops!!

Kate's 1st Haircut

2011-12-07T15:59:00.000-06:00

So almost 3 years into her lifetime, Kate has finally received her very first haircut. Besides a bang trims when she was growing out her hair, she has never had a haircut. I have been trying to do it for about 6 months now and keep chickening out because I don't want to loose the curls. But, alas, her hair had gotten SO long and SO wild, that it was finally time to tame the beast.

Kate has watched Jack get several and has wanted one for so long, so she was pretty excited to finally get a haircut for herself!

Her hair was so long, she had to sit backwards in the chair

Final product: two pretty cute kiddos!!

p.s. and yes, so far it looks like most of the curls are gone

p.s.s. yes, I sort of regret the haircut because of that

Decorating the Tree

2011-12-06T21:55:00.003-06:00

Another item on our Holiday Check List - obtaining and decorating our Christmas Tree!

The kids were really excited about helping us decorate the tree this year which was both good and bad. Unfortunately, we broke about 5 ornaments in about 20 minutes, but it was fun to watch their reaction to each of the ornaments.

Some of my favorite Christmas decorations are Nativity Scenes. I have a few that I love and that are, of course, breakable, but I am stubborn and a little stupid and I want to display them. So, first I showed the kids the ones that they could play with and then tried to reason with them by explaining, "these are very special to me and Mommy does not want them to be hurt because it would make me very sad and therefore please do not touch..."

Well, about 10 days later as we began to decorate the tree, Jack picked up several ornaments and told me, "mommy, these are very special to me so I want these to go on the top of the tree." It was really cute.

here are some of his "very special" ornaments

I got them their own small tree and plastic and yarn ornaments, but they were not interested in those in the slightest - they only wanted to help decorate "mommy and daddy's" tree. The small tree that I got them was a Rosemary tree and Kate quickly figured out that she could eat it. So, she keeps trying to eat pine needles and realizing that they do not taste good. It might take the whole holiday before she figures out that they are not the same kind of tree. =)

oh, and Ernie the Elf watched us decorate the tree - the kids loved it!

So, our tree is now decorated - check it off!

Warming Up To Santa

2011-12-05T23:00:00.011-06:00

More holiday fun with a second attempt at Santa's lap.

We made some progress...

but that was as close as Kate was going to get to Mr. Claus.

Since Kate is scared of any costumed figure (Santa, Easter Bunny, etc.), I take my kids to the Galleria to meet Santa. And since I am the only person in the entire DFW metroplex that goes to the Galleria instead of Northpark, it is a very stress-free, relaxed atmosphere for Kate. We get about 10 - 15 minutes with Santa which allows her time to warm up to him. There are no crowds, no rush and no tension.

At the beginning of the visit, Kate wouldn't go close to him. Jack, on the other hand, was all smiles from the moment he hopped up on Santa's lap.

Look at that smile... he's got it down!

Santa was so nice and patient with Kate and let her go at her own pace. He talked to her about baby dolls and dollhouses which finally put her at ease. So by the end of the visit, she was laughing with Santa and telling him what she wanted for Christmas. And when we left, she blew him about 50 kisses to improve her chances of being on the 'nice' list.

I was so proud of Kate and thankful that the experience didn't traumatize her any further.

See ya next year St. Nick!!

Children's Christmas Parade

2011-12-04T23:39:00.000-06:00

Next up on our Christmas Kickoff weekend was the Children's Christmas parade. It was a little misty and cold, but it was another great parade with appearances from Elmo, Curious George, Captain America, Abbey, Frosty the Snowman, Clifford and, of course, Santa Claus.

the fam...

parade pictures...

when I asked Kate who her favorite float was, she said Elmo and Abbey. no surprise there.

when I asked Jack who his favorite float was, he said Superman. Superman didn't actually make an appearance this year, so I asked him if he meant Captain America or Green Lantern. he stuck with Superman. I guess the parade had a big impact on him =)

By the way, if you have never been to the parade and are considering it next year - buy bleacher seats!! It is the only way to go with little ones. You can get there right before it starts and sitting down is SO much better than standing and pushing your way around to see. SO worth the money!!

Christmas Kickoff

2011-12-03T23:05:00.000-06:00

This weekend was our official kickoff to the Christmas season. Friday night we went to our local Light Up Lakewood party where we met some real live reindeer, sat (or attempted to sit) on Santa's lap, and enjoyed some other holiday cheer. It was a fun night!

the reindeer

Kate was scared of Santa last year, so we have been doing a lot of prep work about Santa this year. She said she was happy to sit on his lap up until it was our turn and then she got nervous and bailed. So Jack did a solo Santa visit like a total pro! He sat up there and smiled like a champ, but had no clue what to say when Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas.

And as soon as Kate saw that Santa gave Jack a candy cane for sitting on his lap, she decided she wanted to give it another try. So we sat in line, again, waiting for Santa and when it was our turn... bailed, again. But this time she gave Santa a high five so she could get her candy cane. Sweet little girl =)

more fun at the petting zoo

letting the kids eat candy canes while riding on our shoulders was probably not the best idea, but they loved it!!

It was a fun night and a great way to start our holiday festivities. Saturday morning we continued the fun at the Children's Christmas Parade...

Hello December!

2011-12-01T20:39:00.000-06:00

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be out of the month of November. Yeah for my birthday and Thanksgiving, but all in all, this month sucked for the Osbornes. We have had 1 car wreck, 2 cases of pink eye, 2 cases of stomach bug, 1 trip to the ER, 2 sick dogs, 1 burst ear drum, 1 never ending sinus infection, 2 ear infections, constant pregnancy nausea and morning sickness and honestly that's not even all of it.

But, that was November and now I am excited to start over in December. Like most people, it is my favorite time of the year - I love Christmas songs, the smell of pine tress, colorful Christmas lights, and Nativity Scenes among many things. I so badly want for me and my family to be well for the season to enjoy all the excitement and festivities.

So here is to {hopefully} a healthy holiday...

Goodbye November, Hello December!!

Cheese!!

2011-11-30T15:08:00.000-06:00

Can you tell what's on Kate's Christmas wish list this year??

She found this disposable camera (that has to be about 8 years old) somewhere and is obsessed with taking pictures. That, and talking on her phone to Nanny and Nini.

The Invisible Thanksgiving of 2011

2011-11-27T22:29:00.004-06:00

I completely lost my mind this Thanksgiving and forgot my camera to both the Williams Thanksgiving and on our trip to Oklahoma for the Osborne Thanksgiving. Seriously??!! I feel awful about it, but have to admit that I have literally felt awful for about a month now with a sinus infection and just can't seem to get my s together. So this Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, but sadly went undocumented.

Thankfully someone in my family had their act together and brought a camera. So here are some pictures of the Williams grandkiddos...

Jack (almost 3), Sophia (5 months) and Kate (almost 3)

1 Thing I Am Thankful For...

2011-11-27T20:12:00.006-06:00

Wow, as I sat down to make my annual list of 10 things that I am thankful for, I realized that this is my 3rd year as a blogger. Boy, where has the time gone?? And where do I even begin?? I am in the 200s of things I am thankful for in my gratitude journal, so how do I narrow it down to 10?? I have so, so, so much to be thankful for.

-I am about to wrap up my 3rd year as a mom

-I just celebrated my 33rd birthday

-I have a fantastic husband, family and group of friends

-our family is happy and healthy

-and on and on and on

So as I sit here, thinking about my 3rd annual list, I think I am going to use this post to tell you about just one thing I am particularly thankful for this year:

We are expecting our 3rd child in May of 2012!!

There are so many different reasons why I am thankful for this 3rd child, but here are 10:

10. I am one of those crazy people that enjoys pregnancy. I love the miracle of it all - what an honor that God is creating a baby inside me. a baby that He designed and planned ages ago to be born at this moment in time to Will and I.

9. I will get to know the joy of having one child at a time. Yep, that's right - there is just one kiddo in there this time!

8. watching Jack and Kate trying to understand the concept of pregnancy and how sweet they have been to me while experiencing exhaustion, morning sickness and nausea. sweet Kate asks me everyday if I am feeling better - so thoughtful!!

7. I have a few friends and a cousin who are also expecting babies very close to me. I did not have this for J&K, so I am very excited about having friends in the same stage as us.

6. being able to be pregnant without the nerves of a first-time mom. I have a boy and a girl already so there is really no unknown this time around.

5. more chaos. I wanted a big family and I am excited that God has blessed me with one - chaos and all.

4. I love guilt-free eating!!

3. watching Kate and Jack get excited about a sibling. Jack wants a brother and Kate wants a baby sister - go figure.

2. the excitement of not finding out the sex until the delivery day. I am such an OCD planner, but I am actually really excited about this surprise.

1. another beautiful gift from God. I can't wait to meet another Osborne - what will he/she look like and what will his/her personality be. I can't wait for the new smiles, laughs, first words, funny quirks, first steps - I really am thrilled to be starting from the beginning again!

We are blessed and so thankful for so many things, but this special miracle makes Thanksgiving even more fun for our family!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

60. thank you for #3!!

Kate & Jack's lists

2011-11-27T18:17:00.000-06:00

To help the kids understand the meaning behind Thanksgiving, we created a Gratitude Jar. We try to get the kids to say something they are thankful each night during dinner, write it down and put it in the Gratitude Jar. The kids have really enjoyed the activity and will randomly tell me things they are thankful for and then tell me to "go write it down". Here are the most popular items that the kids are thankful for this year.

Kate is thankful for...

Jesus

Mommy

Daddy

pumpkins

Mommy's baby

Nanny & Pop

Nini & Papa

Cooper

Riley

old lovie

Jack is thankful for...

trees

Mommy

Daddy

dirt

Papa & Nini

Nanny & Pop

doggies

jumping

dirty water

my strawberry

not so coordinating outfits

2011-11-26T16:35:00.007-06:00

I just loved how the kid's school pictures turned out this year so I wanted to post the proofs to show you all. mental note: have back up coordinating outfits. check out the pictures and then read about how Jack's outfit was decided...

first Jack: I love the growl/smile, but who thought this buck cut hairdo looked good?

and Kate: what a sweet little girl!!

and then the sibling picture: melt my heart!!

funny story about Jack's outfit:

knowing that the kids would be taking a sibling picture, I had coordinating outfits picked out for them to wear that day. and typically, I am not one of those mothers that needs their kids to look perfect every time we walk out the door. I have no problems letting them wear pjs to the grocery store or a cinderella dress to dinner - both my kids can be pretty particular about what they wear and clothing is just not one of my typical battles that I care about winning. however, picture day is different.

back to those coordinating outfits. this happened to be a day that Jack was very determined about what he wanted to wear to school. and of all things, he wanted to wear a bright teal Kindermusik T-shirt with a weird train on the front. we fought for a while and I finally said, "no. this is the only day of the school year that I have absolute control over what you wear. you will wear this nice navy collared shirt. end of subject." he finally gave in and let me put him in my choice. once he was fully dressed, shoes and socks and all, he looked at me and peed all over himself, shoes and socks and all.

so neither of us won that battle. neither the navy shirt nor the bright teal shirt made it in this year's school pictures. but the morning's events certainly make his growl/smile even more fitting! little punk =)

The Little Gym

2011-11-25T22:47:00.000-06:00

K&J have been taking a Little Gym class this fall and have really enjoyed it. It has been fun watching them pick up some gymnastics skills, gain self confidence, play with other kids and try new things. Here are some pictures of the kids playing at the gym (these are a little old, but I am trying to get caught up)...

slumber party

2011-11-21T22:05:00.000-06:00

and to wrap up our big weekend, the Brodheads (Cole, Jennie, Hayes and Chase) came over to spend the night. all the kids did really well together. cars, trucks and trains were a big hit and thankfully between the two families we had enough to appease each kid.

and no slumber party is a real party unless there is lots of jumping on the beds!!

what a fun weekend, we are so thankful for all our friends!!

TCU game

2011-11-21T21:17:00.000-06:00

This is the first TCU game we have taken the kids to since they were about 9 months. We wanted to wait until they would actually have a clue about what was going on and actually enjoy a little of it. We spent a short time at the tailgate then went to Frog Alley for face painting and bounce houses galore. The kids lasted about a quarter and a half but we stretched it to half time and then took it to the house.

the fam

our friends, the Brodheads - we decided that if one of us was bringing kids, the other would too. one for all, all for one!!

and we had another special frog fan join us for the game - sweet Madeline Hunt. isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen??!!

face painting

Jack found a huge horned frog

cheering at the game - go frogs!!

but, not surprisingly, the kids got tired and had had enough of the excitement. time to go home...

Mater Birthday Party

2011-11-21T21:15:00.000-06:00

we had a big weekend this weekend that started with a Mater birthday party for our friend Logan, followed by a TCU game (or at least half of the game) and then wrapped up by a slumber party with our friends, the Brodheads.

The Mater birthday party was so much fun - we played on the park, ate cup cakes and got awesome party favors.

having fun on the seesaws

cupcakes!!

and the cutest party favors ever - Mater teeth

Happy Birthday Logan and thank you Marlie, we had a blast!!

Movember

2011-11-15T21:13:00.000-06:00

Before I do any more catching up on our November, I must preface it with a quick blurb about Movember. In the next several posts, you will notice that my husband is sporting a stache. (For those of you that are confused, that's slang for mustache.)

In honor of his father (a prostate cancer survivor), he has joined thousands of other men across the nation in growing a mustache for the month of November in order to raise money and awareness for men's health and specifically prostate cancer. If you have a desire to donate money, you can support Will at this link. Personally I think it's awesomely awful and am anxiously awaiting December 1st, but I think his motivation is sweet. So, yeah Will!

Ok, back to posts about the kids...

OKC Zoo

2011-11-11T22:17:00.006-06:00

This weekend we went to OKC for a Friday night wedding and to hang out with Nanny & Pop. We went up a day early so we had all Friday to play. We decided to take the kids to the OKC Zoo. It was a beautiful day - cool but sunny - and most of the animals were out playing.

Jack's favorite animals were the rhinoceros and alligator. He was scared of the bat house, but would not leave the snakes (he melted down when he realized he couldn't touch them). Kate loved the giraffes and spent a lot of her time collecting acorns off the ground and stuffing them in her pockets.

By the way, OKC Zoo has a wonderful promotion on Veteran's Day - since John is a veteran, our entire family was able to go for free!! Yeah OKC ZOO!!

silly stinkers

2011-11-09T20:39:00.002-06:00

bedroom boredom

2011-11-06T21:59:00.005-06:00

last Monday, which was Halloween, the kids were so anxious and excited about trick-or-treating that they would not take a nap. I finally quit fighting the fight, but told them that they had to stay in their room for a bit so I can get some stuff done.

I paid for it dearly.

when I went to check on them after "quiet time", I discovered that they had completely emptied out their closet and their dresser and put all their clothes, accessories, shoes, etc. in a pile between their beds. they also cleared off the bottom shelf of their bookshelves, including ripping up some books and taking apart some picture frames (which is actually quite difficult). it was a disaster!

and I will admit, this was not one of my finer moments. my OCD tendencies kicked into overdrive as my organization was destroyed. I was pretty angry at the time, but am laughing about it now so I thought I would post about it. Kate's smile is just too priceless not to post.

empty closet

look at this ornery smile...

Trick or Treating

2011-10-31T22:42:00.001-05:00

Kate was the most excited about Halloween this year because she got to wear a brand new princess dress. For several weeks, she has been asking to be, specifically, Snow White so when I realized her choice was not going to change, I ordered the Disney dress online. When it came in the mail, she was overjoyed, truly overjoyed (she even kissed the dress!!). I made her wait until Halloween to wear it and the excitement on her face was just priceless (although, the layer of gold glitter covering my entire house is not so priceless).

Kate as Snow White, 2011

Every time I asked Jack what he wanted to be for Halloween, he usually answered, "dirt". It is pretty much his answer to every question these days. What do you want for lunch? dirt. What do you want to wear today? dirt. What do you want to do today? play in the dirt. So, anyway, instead of coming up with a Pigpen costume (from Charlie Brown - anyone?), I started talking up a pirate. It worked well enough and he was pretty excited about his costume. He wouldn't wear the eye patch or let me draw on a fake beard, but he liked saying, "aaarrrggghh!".

Jack the Pirate, 2011

Since the kids were SO excited about Halloween this year, I thought it would be fun to drag it out for two nights. Sunday night we went to LHUMC where they have a fun Trunk or Treat festival with pizza, popcorn, bounce house, etc.

And of course, Halloween night in Lakewood is crazy fun! Will took the kids up and down our street and then we handed out candy at our house. It was a great night!!

Jack got sick of me taking his pictures - he was anxious to get started with the trick or treating.

Kate loved her dress so much that she did not want to get it dirty, so she carefully lifted it up while walking around.

After trick or treating, Kate quickly put herself in charge of handing out the candy. She was hilarious - she would only give one piece per kid and did not get intimidated with the big crowds.

132. thank you for the joy of watching my kids get so excited about Halloween

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:31:00.001-05:00

Love, the pirate and the princess

found it on pinterest

2011-10-24T15:28:00.007-05:00

yes, I am addicted to pinterest. and I am not ashamed because I have actually used several of the recipes and kid activities that I have found on it.

here are some fun kid activities that we have done that were inspired by pinterest:

sidewalk chalk painting:

*easy to make: equal parts (ex. 3T) water and corn starch, plus 5-6 drops of food coloring

*cheap to make - only three, cheap, fairly common ingredients

*easy clean up - just hose down your driveway

*three steps of fun - painting, raking it up (once dry) and then hosing it off

matchbox car painting:

a fun spin on finger painting that uses their favorite toys

*use washable finger paint and it will come right off the cars

*a tip I learned from pinterest: put the paper in a jelly roll tray to keep the mess contained

116. thank you for the creativity of other moms

117. thank you that I can easily access those ideas from the internet to entertain and teach my children

when dad's away...

2011-10-23T15:17:00.001-05:00

my kids go nuts. it never fails - dad goes out of town and my kids get sick, stick a rock up their nose or find a way to destroy something. this time it was the flood of 2011.

a couple weeks ago, Will was away at a work conference and while I was fixing dinner, the kids flooded their bathroom. so much so, that we had water dripping down the chandelier into the breakfast room directly below their bathroom.

I was able to clean it up quick enough that no permanent damage was done, but I did snap a quick photo just to commemorate the flood (love those iphones).

Kate had climbed up onto the counter to wash her hands and had accidentally closed the drain. so soon enough, water and soap bubbles came up and over and covered the entire floor before I got up there and stopped it.

Jack kept telling me it was an "emergency" and we had to call the fireman to come help (that day had been fire safety day at school). he was so hoping real firemen would come to our house!

126. thank you that Will doesn't travel frequently for work

3 months until we're 3!! - part ll

2011-10-16T22:39:00.029-05:00

This past Saturday marked 3 months until the kids turn 3 years old so I thought this would be a good time for one of those long, boring-to-anyone-besides-me emails that catalogs the kids progress and personality updates. So here it goes...

Developments:

-Shapes: the kids are learning their shapes and can identify a circle, square, triangle and sometimes rectangle, star and diamond. they love to fold up their napkin and ask me what shape it looks like

-Colors: J&K know a lot of their colors now including black, brown, gray. we are now working on shades of colors i.e. dark blue vs. light blue

-Counting: they can count to 13 no problem. they know 14 - 20, but they never end up in the correct order. funny side note: the kids love the Count on Sesame St (most people in our family can do a pretty good Count impression)

-School: I have really enjoyed the transition from day care to actual preschool this year. they have lessons and actual art projects (vs. coloring randomly). they have learned so much already in the first few months and I love that they reiterate what I am teaching at home and I can reinforce what they learn at school. they are learning days of the week, months of the year, holidays, bible stories, animal habitats, body parts (like the heart, lungs, blood) and more shapes and colors.

-Clothes: oh boy. both children have serious opinions about what they wear. if they are not at school, they are usually in costumes, pj's or naked. since they can now undress themselves fully, they spend a lot of time naked. they each have their own favorite outfits and we rotate them over and over and over.

-Potty training: PT is actually going really well. we have some accidents, but they are few and far between. they are still in pull-ups at night and Jack is still learning to stand up, but I am very happy with our progress.

-Big kid beds: I'm not so happy about this one. the kids still go crazy at nap and night time. we have had to take all furniture (except their dresser) out of their room because they climb, jump and play until all hours of the night. we have thought about separating them but I am still holding out hope that they will eventually settle down. I love the fact that they have a best friend at all times and every night can be a slumber party - I think that is one of their privileges of being a twin. but Will and I am just about to go crazy over bed time.

-Eating: Kate is a pro with forks and spoons and can eat cereal and soup without much of a mess. Jack can eat well with a spoon and fork, but still insists on using his fingers most of the time. Jack has become very picky about what he will eat. he has decided that he doesn't like anything which has made meal times pretty tough. the kids eat a good variety of foods, but usually one a few bites at a time. meal times are getting harder and harder. favorite foods: yogurt, granola bars, bananas, apples, raisins - yes, I know these are all snacks.

-Reading Books: we have a new round of family favorite books and songs. so much so, that we can stop mid sentence and they will finish the line of the book or song. it's one of my favorite parts about bedtime. those new favorites include Where is Green Sheep?, Sleep Tight Elmo, Curious George and Winnie the Pooh.

-Singing Songs: we sing a lot of songs during the day and we have stepped it up a notch - we have added the air guitar, microphones, air drums to our songs. their favorite songs are the classic alphabet song, twinkle twinkle, you are my sunshine, where is thumbkin and the "fireman song". the fireman song is a made up song that Will sings and it changes every single night. the kids love it!!

-Praying: they are really starting to understand the concept of prayer. they have started to ask to say their own prayers, and they are so precious. Kate is the enforcer of "praying hands" and both kids say a very dramatic "Amen!".

-Playing together: this is the greatness of twins. they have begun to start to play together for certain amounts of time. they enjoy cooking together at their kitchen, pushing each other on the tricycles, digging in the dirt together and moving all their toys into the pack-n-play. the other day I overheard Jack tell Kate, "come on Kate, let's go have fun!".

-Vocabulary: as to be expected at this age, their vocabulary expands every day. they repeat everything we say and always ask what I mean when I say something they don't understand. I have to be careful not to use slang or random expressions that are confusing. their favorite phrases these days are "why?", "what would happen if...", "let me check", "I'm pretty sure...", "calm down guys", "hey guys", "watch my trick" and "awesome".

-Discipline: we are having a slight problem with minding me so we have recently instated a reward sticker chart. our biggest challenges are eating, sleeping and dressing without a huge meltdown and fight. after 10 stickers, the kids get a piece of candy. after 100 stickers the kids will get a small toy. so far, it seems to be helping reinforce the positive behavior. we are actually in a pretty hard stage right now because they kids are so opinionated, stubborn and trying to find their boundaries. I just hope it's a quick stage.

Differences:

In the last few months, the biggest development for the kids have been that they have become very noticeably a boy and a girl. Obviously their anatomy has always been different, but before now they both played with all toys pretty equally and showed no preferences among their toys. But starting this fall, they have really divided in their main interests. Kate loves to dress up in princess costumes and is becoming more and more infatuated with princess things while Jack prefers playing with his trains and digging in the dirt with his trucks. This is not a result of anything Will and I have pushed or suggested, it has just happened naturally and has been fascinating to watch. A good summary of these changes is that we now have to keep two sets of bandaids in stock - one box of Disney princesses and one box of Cars movie bandaids.

Favorite Things:

Kate loves to snuggle, dress up in costumes, sing songs, give kisses and hugs, get new clothes, put stickers on her sticker chart, eat off mom's plate, jump on the trampoline, look at pictures of the family, play angry birds on my phone, have a play date with her dolls, read books, ride her tricycle, rock her doll baby Kate and anything princess. She has a great memory, repeats everything we say and is so independent that she will not let me help her with much anymore.

Jack loves to dig in the dirt with shovels, sing songs and play air guitar, jump on the trampoline, read books, have a play date with Kate and her dolls, ride his tricycle, dance to pandora radio stations, jump from bed to bed, play with the water hose, put a sticker on his sticker chart, build his train tracks, jump from the coffee table to the couch, play naked in the backyard, watch the Cars movie and dress in Superhero capes. He inherited the Osborne dramatic gene - when he is happy, he is so sweet and happy, but when he is upset, he has serious meltdowns!

Wow, that was a lot. I know I left some stuff out, but that's all I can handle for now!!

3 months until we're 3!!

2011-10-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

the new nickname

2011-10-12T15:10:00.007-05:00

Kate has given Jack a new nickname: Jackie.

I have no idea where it came from, no one has ever actually called him that. But just in the last few days, she has started calling him Jackie, Bubba Jackie or (my favorite) My Jackie.

This morning, Jack was playing with his trains in another room and Kate asked me, "Mommy, where is My Jackie?". Oh, it was precious! I love it when Jack calls Kate "Katiebug", but this cracks me up because she came up with it on her own. I don't think it will be Jack's favorite nickname ever (chances are, Kate will come up with something else before Jr. High), but for the moment, it's the sweetest thing!!

more fun at the arboretum

2011-10-11T22:48:00.010-05:00

here are pictures of some of our other adventure at the arboretum...

a puppet show

face painting (the highlight of the day)

Jack chose a puppy dog and Kate chose a pink butterfly

checking it out in the mirror

the final product

looking at each other's face

Kate going back for one more look

WOOF WOOF

a very proud butterfly

the petting zoo

the haystack maze

jumping over the haystacks was more fun than going through the maze

I told you, I just love the arboretum!!!

102. thank you for the opportunity to be a stay at home mom during this stage of my kid's lives

pumpkin pictures

2011-10-11T22:23:00.004-05:00

the kids did not have school today, so we took advantage of the cool weather and went to play at the arboretum. there really is nothing better (for kids) in Dallas than the arboretum in the fall. we had a really full, fun morning which I will post about next, but here are a few of my favorite pumpkin pictures...

gymnastics with daddy

2011-10-10T21:44:00.002-05:00

Happy Columbus Day!!

Thanks to good old Columbus, Will got the day off today. We had a fun morning with the kids at open gym at the rec center. The kids had a great time playing with daddy and showing him all their cool moves and fun tricks.

the bear crawl

climbing the fireman's ladder

climbing the daddy mountain

the rope swing

rolling in the doughnut mat

and the balance beam

TX OU '11

2011-10-09T22:09:00.002-05:00

Another fun, crazy, fried TX OU weekend in the books!

We had a house full of friends and family over on Friday night for food and kid chaos. Jack and Kate had so much fun having friends over to play. It's so funny to watch them play with other kids, share their toys and show off for friends. On Saturday we went out to the fair for some football, lots of fried food and some of the best people watching EVER!!

Friday night pictures:

Kate, Olivia, Sam and Jack

rubbing the bald head for luck

Kate and Olivia playing "baby doll" with Harris' car seat

snuggle time

Thanks again for a fun weekend of football, fried fair food, and good friends! We missed the Buckleys this year, but look forward to continuing the tradition next year!

94. thank you for friends coming over to eat dinner and watching the kids play together

silly superheroes!

2011-10-08T21:48:00.005-05:00

pajama power at the osborne house...
we spend a lot of time flying around the house and fighting bad guys these days. and by "fighting bad guys", I mean spraying them with our pretend fireman hoses. even sweet Riley helps us fight those bad guys =)

btw, the cute superhero pajamas are courtesy of Target. they have Batman, Spiderman, Buzz, Woody - lots of cute stuff for your little superhero!

88. thank you for my children's imaginations

their film debut

2011-10-03T15:45:00.003-05:00

Jack and Kate made their film debut today up at Will's office. Although, I have videotaped them hundreds of times, this is probably their first official independent film credit. They acted as "clients" that were investing their money to save for college. The video will be showed at the company's annual conference as a teaching tool so I am not sure if they will quite make it to IMDB, but it's a start. I have to say, they seemed like naturals - we got it done in one take!!

Some action shots:

I think they were a little confused about what was going on, but Sherri kept handing them toys so they went with it

the cute couple dressed up for their business meeting:

2 things:

-yes, I know Jack's tie is way too long (it is for an 8 year old, but it was all I could find)

-yes, I know Jack's pants are too short (this poor boy is much taller than his waist size)

at least he is eating salad

2011-09-27T16:34:00.005-05:00

my sneaky little guy disappeared last night while I was making dinner.

I finally found him...

I am not sure how or why he was naked, but I guess a mom has to be happy that he was sneaking some salad!!

78. thank you that my kids usually eat a good variety of foods

Happy Silly Friday!

2011-09-23T15:56:00.002-05:00

my date with Sophia

2011-09-17T15:03:00.008-05:00

I had a date with my niece, Sophia, this past week. It was my second time to babysit her and each time has been a great learning experience for me. You get such a great perspective when taking care of a child that is not yours. I think it's a sneak peak of what it must be like as a grandmother - taking care of a baby without the stress of it being your own child in your home. It was calm, relaxing and enjoyable.

My first date with her, she was just 3 weeks old and slept on my lap for most of our time together.

Sophia @ 3 weeks

As I snuggled with Sophia, I thought about how rarely I got to enjoy snuggle time with my own newborns. And how, sadly, those quiet nap times are long gone. As a new momma, I was in survival mode for the first several months (if not the whole first year) so when I was able to get both kids asleep, I was concentrating on something else - dishes, laundry, a nap for myself, etc. Every mother in the universe warns you to appreciate the newborn snuggle time because there will always be time for the dishes, laundry and picking up toys, but the newborn stage is so fleeting. I think that bit of advice falls under the category of "easier said than done" because you cannot actually wait several months or years to wash your dishes, change the sheets, clean up after lunch. And once you finally get the kids down for the night, you are so exhausted, cleaning is the absolute last thing you want to do.

But there is a reason that every mother in the universe tells you this. Because it is true. I officially fall into the category that can say that I wish I had more of these moments back. I do have a few wonderful memories of sleeping the entire night in my rocking chair with Kate asleep on my chest and some nap times on the couch with both kids snuggled up next to me. But it is amazing how quickly those sleeping babies become active, squirming babies and your snuggle time diminishes. It's too bad that the newborn stage comes very first - when you are so overwhelmed, unsure of yourself, nervous about every freaking thing - when there is no chance of being able to just relax and enjoy the moment. It's crazy, but at this point, Will and I actually enjoy (well, somewhat enjoy) when the kids are sick because it's one of those rare times when they want to snuggle for long amounts of time. I guess the newborn stage is kind of like college - one of those amazingly wonderful times in your life that you cannot fully appreciate until you are no longer there.

My second date with her was a little more than just sleeping on my lap, but still made me smile at how relaxed and calm the morning went. It seems like another life time ago that I was burping a baby, working on tummy time, changed a non-smelly diaper, keeping track of ounces and napping, etc. Will and I haven't quite decided if we are going to have more kids, but I do think it would be fun to go back through the baby stages with the knowledge, experience, perspective I now have from J&K. And how crazy would it be to just have one baby at a time!!

Sophia @ 10 weeks

31. thank you for a healthy, happy niece and nephew

32. thank you for smiling, cooing Sophia and walking, laughing Henry

34. thank you that J&K will have both a boy and girl cousin close in age

playing in the dirt

2011-09-16T17:50:00.001-05:00

FINALLY!!

It is finally cool enough to play outside again!!!

So we spent this weekend making up for lost time by playing in the dirt, mud, bushes, water hose - whatever we could find. We all had a great time...

look - we are wearing long pants!!!

gettin dirty

(well, kind of dirty)

they explored every corner and cranny of the yard

and we even got some war wounds to commemorate our excitement

12. thank you for 70 degree weather

13. thank you for my children's curiosity

nap time

2011-09-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

we did some painting in the kids bedroom today and since the smell was still pretty strong, I put the kids in my bed for a nap. with an entire king size bed to themselves, this is how they ended up...

right on top of each other!

6. thank you for all the crazy positions my kids end up in while asleep

gratitude journal

2011-09-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

It was no coincidence that I wrapped up an emotionally exhausting 9-11 weekend with a book club meeting on the book one thousand gifts. God's timing is always so amazing, isn't it?! Although it's a little verbose, the book has so many fabulous points on living a more grateful life; finding joy in small unseen gifts from God each day; focusing on thanksgiving first and foremost, and on and on...

Anyway, in response to the book, I have started my own gratitude journal. My goal is to write out 1000 gifts within a year. And since so many of my daily gifts come from my time with my family, I thought I would share some along the way. So, you will notice some random (numbered and italicized) line items woven throughout my posts. Don't worry, I won't be sharing all 1000 on here, but I thought it would be fun to add in the ones that coincide with my posts.

So, here is goes...

1. thank you for my book club

happy friday suckas!!

2011-09-09T14:37:00.002-05:00

my princess, ballerina, cowboy

2011-09-08T13:42:00.000-05:00

my princess:

Kate looking at herself in the mirror - she is in love with her crown!

ballerina:

twirling in her tutu

looking at a picture of Zoe ballerina (her new idol)

and cowboy:

every ballerina needs a pair of boots

what a nut, doll, sweetheart!!

two steps back

2011-09-07T23:23:00.004-05:00

of course, after I bragged on my dry-underwear children yesterday, we had a major potty training hiccup today. two actually...

child a:

the kids are playing in the backyard and kate and I go inside for her to go to the bathroom. as we are finishing up, jack runs in - totally naked - and yells,

"mom, I pooped on the porch! come hose me off!!"

and he had. on my back porch. like a dog. and he was so proud of it?!

we have recently introduced the greatness of being a boy and the ability to pee in "the woods". unfortunately jack hasn't figured out where and when this is actually appropriate. this weekend we were at some friends house and jack accidentally peed on their back porch. so our friend just hosed him down in the backyard. apparently jack thought it was great and tried to one up himself today. and he did!

child b:

after naptime, we were doing our usual wake up routine of milk and cartoon. after the cartoon, I turned off the tv and we all jumped off the couch to start playing again. kate jumped off the couch as normal, however, there was a huge wet spot under her. I asked her if she peed on the couch and she looked at me as if I was an idiot and said "yes". she was so matter-of-fact and unapologetic. I was shocked because this was the first accident she has had in two weeks and the last one was because she was buckled into her highchair.

I wish my couch was as easy to clean as the back porch...

1st day of preschool

2011-09-06T17:42:00.005-05:00

today was our first day of Preschool 2's at CCDC. the kids did great, I cried like an idiot. go figure.

not only did they both walk into school with confidence and excitement about the new school year, but both kids came home in the same outfit that they went to school in!!! translation: neither child had any potty training accidents!!

J&K's teacher handed out the following prayer to the parents today. it was a sweet gesture and a good prayer, so I wanted to pass it along...

First Day of School Prayer

Here we are again, Lord. Their backpacks are loaded. Their faces are scrubbed and their lunch boxes are full. And I know you'll walk with them, Lord. You always do. But a mom still has to ask. Will You walk with them?

Will you whisper to them what they need to hear, when I'm not there to whisper it? Will You please, oh please, cover their school with the protection only You can give, and will You keep harm far away?

Will You make their minds strong and ready to learn? Will You help them understand that hard work honors the One who created them?

Will You guide their teachers, giving them patience and wisdom and creativity and more patience? Will You bless them for their efforts?

Will You love those children there, the ones whose lunch boxes aren't full, the ones who feel alone? Will You teach my children to be kind and unselfish and to love those who are different from them?

Will You point them back toward home just as soon as you can? Lord, I give them to you today and everyday, trusting them to Your care.

Amen.

and so it begins...

2011-09-02T11:41:00.004-05:00

college football, that is!!

and of course, there is absolutely NO brainwashing going on at our house. =)

Go Frogs!!

still not sleeping

2011-09-02T10:47:00.002-05:00

even though the potty training is going well, the big kid beds are still a disaster. every other day, the kids don't even take a nap. on those days, I make them take a "quiet time" where they have to play quietly in their room - yeah right! this is obviously designed as a quiet time for mommy. so yesterday was one of those days. and when I finally went upstairs to retrieve my children, they had invented a new jumping game. open the windows, climb onto the window sill and jump onto Jack's bed. so much for quiet time?!

birthday boy!!

2011-08-29T10:22:00.007-05:00

We had a great weekend celebrating Henry's milestone 1st birthday with the Osborne family and friends. There was cake, swimming, dinner with friends, some late night shopping, late night toe touches and much more!

Friday night, we got together with some great friends in OKC that we miss very much. We always have a blast when we get together and this night was no exception. We had dinner and drinks and for our late night party, Brent took us by their new store, Steven Giles Clothing (go check it out if you're in OKC) for some shopping and drinking - that's an expensive combo but a great night!!

Henry's party was on Saturday - it was a precious Nemo themed swim party. J&K had a great time playing with all of Henry's toys, opening his presents for him, eating cookies, swimming and having fun with family.

what a cute family

Henry had lots of friends helping him open and inspect his presents

J&K are so excited that Henry is old enough to start playing

of course there was lots of cake...

and it was a big hit with the birthday boy!

even the adults got into the cake fun...

as did my kids

Happy Birthday Henry, thanks for a fun weekend!!

Happy Birthday Henry!!

2011-08-28T22:12:00.003-05:00

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet nephew, Henry!!!

We had so much fun and look forward to many more celebrations with you!!

p.s. there will be many more birthday weekend pictures to come...

sweet, sweet Cooper

2011-08-26T16:35:00.001-05:00

Our sweet Cooper, who was my 25th birthday present from Will, has not had the easiest of lives and isn't in the best of health. He has a genetic disorder similar to Lupus and has had three knee surgeries from torn ACLs. (I will say he is pretty darn lucky to have us as parents because I am not sure too many people would have footed the bill for those surgeries and a lifetime supply of medicine.)

So needless to say, Will and I have been a little wary about him around the kids - not that he is a mean dog, but we just don't know how much pain he is in and touching him the wrong way could hurt him pretty badly. I am so happy to say that he has always been a complete gentleman around our kids - especially now that they are toddlers and enjoy hugging him, "walking him", stalking him and playing with him.

Here are some recent pictures of Kate walking Cooper:

I will always remember Cooper's reaction the first night we brought the kids home from the hospital. He paced around our bedroom all night - staying up with Will and I for the duration of that first crazy night. That was the night he was officially de-throned but he has been such a sweetheart ever since.

This month Cooper turns 8 years old. Happy Birthday buddy, thank you for being such a great brother to Kate, Jack and Riley!!

potty training process

2011-08-23T22:02:00.000-05:00

So, this past week of potty training was actually not as bad as I thought it would be.

This could be for a couple of reasons:

1. I am still so naive and the worst is yet to come

2. I drank a lot of wine and ate a lot of ice cream so it's all a sugary blur

3. I expected it to be so incredibly bad that short of the kids pooping on my bed and favorite chair, anything has to be better than what I expected

4. God was so kind to me this week and gave me an extra helping of patience and strength.

I vote for #4 with a side of #2!

I am happy to report that 1 week later, the kids are fully in underwear during the day (I opted for pull ups at night for a few weeks until we settle into a good daytime routine) and after those first two days, we have had very few accidents (which includes waking up dry after all naps)!! Plus we have successfully gone out to dinner, out for brunch and to a play date in our big kid underwear.

I'm not saying we are officially potty trained, but we made some major progress this week! Officially potty trained, in my opinion, means I am no longer wiping bottoms, emptying the training potty, handing out candy for peeing and pooping, or overseeing the hand washing process. That seems like it's a few years away, but it's all about the baby steps.

Well, see you later diaper changing station!!

And a personal opinion/comment to any mommies about to potty train their children:

I read the 3 day boot camp for potty training a toddler and I actually was not too impressed - especially since you are supposed to purchase her ideas/process. It was a helpful place to start, but I found it pretty generic and a little unrealistic. I am the type of person that wants detailed step by step instructions with pictures, tips, and a q&a section.

What I learned from it was to throw away all your diapers (um, can I suggest you give them to a mommy friend instead of tossing perfectly clean diapers into our landfills), load your kid up with a ton of liquids (so much so that my kids didn't eat a bite of actual food the entire first day) and then let them mark their territory all over your house until they understand that they have to tell you when they need to go to the bathroom.

So, I made up my own process that was a little more relaxed, a little more fun and not so stressful. Sure, it took longer than 3 days, but we were able to leave the house on the third day without an accident. If I get a ton of extra free time in the next week (ha!), I am going to write down what I learned by my experience with tips, dos/don'ts, pros/cons, etc. and I will try to post it later this week for anyone that might be interested.

add two more to the checklist

2011-08-21T10:21:00.001-05:00

so, after a long few days at home potty training, I realized that I forgot two essentials to my potty training checklist.

lots of red wine? check! (magnum bottles preferred!)

and the best ice cream know to man? check!!

seriously - if you haven't tried this new flavor - you shouldn't call yourself an American!!

ok, now the potty training checklist is complete!!

shoot me now!

2011-08-18T23:15:00.005-05:00

floor cleaner? check.

plenty of treats on hand? check.

enough towels to protect my rugs? check.

a crap load of big kid underwear? check!!

that's right folks!!

it's potty training time at the Osborne house - just shoot me now!

vindicated

2011-08-18T22:05:00.009-05:00

have you seen this new Jack in the Box commercial?

Jack In The Box Commercial - Jumbo Breakfast Platter

it's funny, right?

Will and I thought it was pretty funny too.

that was until it played during a Rangers game this week. Kate saw the commercial, turned to her daddy, pulled up her shirt and yelled, "sexy!".

tv has always been a sore subject for me - it's the one thing I am really weird about. I do not like for my kids to watch tv or for it even to be on in the background. Will has always argued that watching a baseball/basketball/football game is harmless. hmmm... I think Kate just proved my point!!!

Nini's birthday party

2011-08-14T22:54:00.000-05:00

we continued our exciting weekend with a birthday party for Nini at our house on Saturday night. Kate was absolutely fascinated with Sophia - she wanted to kiss and hug her all night long.

She even shared her lovie with Sophia - now, that is true love!!!

Thankfully Aunt Sue invented a very popular jumping game, so Sophia got a rest from all the kissing and hugging.

What a fun night!!!

big top weekend

2011-08-14T15:48:00.012-05:00

guess where we went this weekend?

that's right - the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus!! we were out of town while it was in Dallas so we drove out to Ft Worth to see "The Greatest Show on Earth".

it's been many, many years since I've been to the circus, but it had all the things that I was expecting to see - elephants, trapeze flyers, acrobats, tigers, a ring master, clowns, tight rope walkers, lots of crap for sale and lots of sparkly costume changes!!

family photos

circus fun

my favorite part? the motorcycle riders

we didn't make it through the whole show (which was 2 hours plus an intermission) but the kids lasted through the main attractions. Kate was antsy after the first half but I think they really did enjoy it. the real miracle was that we made it out of there without any of that crazy expensive crap. I'm not really sure how that happened, but the kids didn't really ask for anything - except food for Kate (she polished off a whole box of popcorn, 2 boxes of raisins, a hot dog and was still hungry?!).

Happy Birthday Nini!!

2011-08-13T22:40:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Nini!

We hope you have a calm, relaxing day!!

We love you Nini!

going on safari

2011-08-12T11:59:00.007-05:00

one of our playgroup buddies introduced us to the Indoor Safari Park this week. it was a drive, but well worth it! it was a great indoor activity for the kids.

there were train rides,

elephant and zebra rides,

a mini golf course,

two indoor playgrounds

a trampoline,

and even table games.

and if it couldn't get any better than that, there was a Chick-fil-a across the street. we went there for some lunch and more play time. Jack was in heaven because we sat next to 4 police officers. what a fun day!!

the tot clock

2011-08-10T20:26:00.005-05:00

during my third nap-time bed check today, I found the kids playing in the bath tub?! really?! they have gotten so bold that they don't even stay in their rooms any longer.

most days, I end up sitting in their room as the policeman but in order for them to be able to stay in the same room together, they are going to have to learn how to go to sleep at a reasonable hour without me or Will in there. so, tonight we are testing out the tot clock - yet another attempt to try to explain to the kids when they are supposed to be in bed and when they can get up and play.

I am going to give this a few days and see if it makes any difference...

all clear!!

2011-08-08T21:03:00.003-05:00

so the rock situation has ended - thankfully it was fairly easy and almost painless!

we went to the ENT this afternoon to check out the damage. he sprayed some numbing medicine up her nose and then sent a scope camera through the nasal canal. Kate was so brave and actually very talkative to the doctor and nurse. she didn't cry and hardly even flinched as the camera moved through her nose.

and, to my surprise, there were no rocks!! the doctor said that she must have swallowed it - apparently a very common outcome for these foreign objects. he said most likely she sucked it up and swallowed it while crying as we were poking her with tweezers and if it didn't hurt her going through the esophagus, she will be fine. since we have seen no blood and she has been as active as ever, I have no reason to believe she is in pain.

and that was it. a pink lollipop, a small copay and it was over. like I said, easy and almost painless!! well, it still has to come out the other way...

runny and rocky

2011-08-07T22:43:00.002-05:00

I don't know who Murphy is, but I really hate his law. every time Will goes out of town for a guys trip, our kids either get sick, destroy something or get hurt. and this weekend was no exception.

*thursday afternoon Jack starts to get a runny nose and it lasts until today. so that means we have a weekend with no friends and no playtime with cousin sophia.

*not to be left out of the action, saturday night Kate does one of the oldest childhood cliches in the parenting handbook: she stuck a rock up her nose.

really?? Will goes out of town and I get runny and rocky!!

thanks Murphy, whoever you are!

here's the whole rock story:

the kids and I went to eat with my parents last night and half way home from the restaurant, Kate just starts crying. I ask her what is wrong and she points to her nose and says "it hurts". after a little detective work, we figure out she has stuck a rock up her nose.

how?? well, she had found these (unfortunately very jagged) little rocks in a flower pot outside the restaurant. she and my mom had been playing with the rocks - counting them, talking about colors, etc. my mom thought she had all the rocks in her possession, but that sneaky little girl had hidden one and without anyone noticing, she stuck it high up her nose.

thankfully we were only a block from home and even better, I saw my neighbor (a family physician) in his yard as we pulled in the driveway. I attempted to pull the rock out with tweezers but couldn't get a grip on it and decided I was doing more harm than good. So, my sweet doctor-neighbor came over with his bag of tools but was also unsuccessful - it was just too far up there. he said there was no need to go to the emergency room - the ER doctor would only take an x-ray to verify that it was there and then refer me to an ENT on Monday morning. apparently foreign objects can hang out in our nasal canal for a few weeks before doing too much harm (that is assuming the object is not causing physical pain or blocking the air path).

so, we wait. and tomorrow we will go see the ENT and get the rock sucked out of her nose. hopefully it won't be a painful ordeal. I'll keep you posted!!

rose's doll house

2011-08-07T09:09:00.001-05:00

I found this cute little book for Kate this weekend called Rose's Doll House. It folds out to a 3 room doll house with some paper dolls, stickers to decorate and a few pieces of furniture. Kate loves playing with my old doll house while at my parent's house, so I thought she would really enjoy it. and since it was the first thing that she talked about when she woke up this morning (well, it and another situation from yesterday that will be blogged about shortly), I think it was a hit.

when I got the whole thing unfolded, she immediately noticed that there was not a bathroom and asked me where her dolls could go potty. the two things Kate likes to play with her dolls is going potty and sleeping. and she cracks me up because every time she puts the dolls in their beds, she puts them face down?!

Jack even played along for a short while

now, this isn't going to be some heirloom piece that gets passed down from one generation to the next. in fact, I doubt this will even make it to next summer. but for a reasonable price, it's a cute little toy and one of those things that you think, "I could have thought of that!!"

castles

2011-08-07T00:40:00.006-05:00

the kid's latest pre-nap and pre-bedtime stalling mechanism is what the kids are calling "castles". in a matter of minutes, they stack all pillows, lovies, books, and blankets on Jack's bed and hide from me behind their castle.

I have several extra pillows on either side of their beds (in case of falls) so they can make a pretty good sized castle!

I know that one day, when we are all back on normal sleep patterns, I will laugh at all this.

pitter patter

2011-08-04T21:44:00.001-05:00

so, the big kid beds are not going very well.

instead of making progress this week, we have regressed a bit. sometime around Sunday/Monday, the kids discovered that they are no longer confined to their beds during sleeping hours. when you add that to the fact that they love to play together, the sleep challenge has become virtually impossible. and therefore, our lives have become total chaos around nap time and night-night time. our 8pm - 8am schedule has now turned into 10pm - 7am, with very little nap in between.

needless to say, we are all pretty exhausted!

I have not actually needed a monitor for most of their lives because Kate is ALWAYS the first one awake (morning and naps) and ALWAYS cries out to let me know. but yesterday, for the very first time, there was no post-nap crying. instead, I was notified that nap time was over by the pitter patter of feet on our hard wood floors. I was actually a little nervous and ran upstairs to find:

empty beds!! they were running around saying, "good morning" and opening all the upstairs blinds.

today's nap time was about 100x worse - after 2.5 hours of battle, neither child got a minute of sleep. I have not had enough wine to really break this one down, but I will say, we are all extra tired, extra cranky and very,very whiny.

let's hope that this weekend goes much smoother and happier!!

toddler bed update

2011-08-01T22:26:00.004-05:00

so, how are the kids doing in their toddler beds?

well, one week later, the kids are still staying up until about 10pm each night and the only way I can get them to take a nap is if I sit in their rooms until they fall asleep. hopefully we will make more progress this week.

tonight @ 9:50pm bed check - they were hanging out in Jack's bed, spying on the neighbors

so, we had another long talk about how lucky they are to have a sibling to spend the night with each night but that we cannot take advantage of it and how they need to go to sleep when it is bedtime. each kid was tucked into bed with all their lovies and blankets, when Jack suddenly jumped out and ran around to Kate's bed. Will started back into the lecture about staying in bed but stopped because Jack ran up to Kate, gave her a hug and kiss and said, "I love you!" she replied with the same - a hug, kiss and "I love you!". then he ran back into bed.

omg, it was precious!!

I so hope they can work through this because I really, really do not want to separate them into different rooms. however, at some point, they need to get some sleep. and I am so, so happy that I did this transition during the summer because we don't have a strict schedule and we can go with the flow. I will update you again next week - keep your fingers crossed!

lake weekend

2011-08-01T15:30:00.005-05:00

this is the 3rd summer that we have taken the kids out to the lake and each time we always wonder why we don't go more often. we have so much fun; there is so much to do - boat rides, playing in the pool, feeding the deer and playing with nini and papa.

waking up to a family of deer

a morning boat ride with nini and papa

driving the boat

Jack was a little more subdued and hung out with papa

while Kate was very daring and stood up in the boat watching the waves

an afternoon swim

motor boat rides with mom and dad

lots of jumping into the water

and climbing up the waterfall

look how well my little fish are doing in the pool...

Jack & Kate swimming with no floaties

we have to beg Kate to put her floaties on for a little so we can all take a break!

it was a great weekend, we can't wait to go back!!

random tidbits

2011-07-27T15:48:00.008-05:00

meeting elmo
this weekend the kids got invited to a birthday party for some twin friends where there was a surprise visit by Elmo and Cookie Monster. from prior experience with Santa and the Easter Bunny, we know that Kate is scared of large characters and this was no exception. as soon as Elmo and Cookie entered the room, she ran and curled herself around Will's leg. Jack, however, stalked Elmo (just like he did to the Easter Bunny) for the rest of the birthday party and has been talking about it ever since.

side note for my WFG friends: you know that guy in the Elmo costume - can you guess who?? (hint: it's not Will)

i love you lovie

as we were driving around today, I heard Kate talking in a very quiet, sweet voice. I looked back and she was hugging her lovie. then she looked at the bear's face and said, "I love you lovie!"

slurpees

it's too freaking hot here to do anything except eat cold treats, so we got our very first slurpees this week. no big surprise - Jack picked blue and Kate picked red. they were a big hit - down to the very last drop!

our Friday routine

2011-07-26T23:13:00.003-05:00

one of my favorite things the kids and I have been doing this summer is our Friday trip to the "bagel shop" after gym class. the kids and I do not get a lot of practice going out in public together (not in a stroller), so this has been our way of easing into this adventure. the first week Jack took a mad dash out the front door, but thankfully we have graduated to eating like a normal family at a table. this last week, we had a minimal amount of crumbs and no milk spills!!

muffins and milk

happy children

Jack feeding his Handy Manny some muffin

big kid beds

2011-07-25T21:49:00.009-05:00

today was a monumental night for the osborne clan. I would probably consider it one of the last official nights that I can call my children babies. why? because they no longer sleep in baby beds!!

tonight, we broke down the cribs and put up the toddler beds!

goodbye babies,

goodbye cribs,

hello big kid beds!

and hello big kids - snug as a bug in a rug!

what did the kids think?

Kate thought it was fun, but I could tell she was a little anxious

Jack knew that he was gaining some freedom and was pretty giddy with excitement

end result:

after only 3 trips into the room to corral them back in bed, Jack finally fell asleep at 10pm and Kate at about 10:30pm. the first night was not nearly as hard as I expected. let's just see what tomorrow brings...

goldilocks

2011-07-21T15:02:00.028-05:00

I am contemplating cutting Kate's hair for the first time so I just had to include a picture of her beautiful hair to the blog before any changes happen. No, I am not going to cut it much - an inch or so at the most, but I am still scared that I am going to cut off all her lovely curls. She has always had a lot of hair compared to other girls her age and its always had some curl. But right now, she has a head of hair that most women covet. It is naturally curly, naturally highlighted with the perfect amount of body - not too thick, not too thin, and all this with absolutely no maintenance. Seriously, no maintenance - I try to comb through it after a bath, but that is about it. I have so many people ask me if I curl her hair. If only! She hates for me to brush it and won't even let me put it in a pony tail anymore (which means it is always in her face, getting crusty and tangled). I digress. I just wanted to post a picture of Kate's gorgeous hair so I will always remember it.

Oh, dear girl, I hope one day you appreciate your beautiful hair!!

more summer pictures

2011-07-21T15:02:00.021-05:00

as my not-so-subtle husband pointed out last night, I have not posted in a while. why? because it's summer and I am lazy. so, what have we been up to this month??

here are just a few things we have been doing in the osborne household...

*swimming play dates

*jumping on our trampoline, or "exercising" as they call it. daddy has started a very rigorous work out routine lately so I have been talking about daddy exercising. Jack's newest phrase it, "what talkin' bout?". he studies what Will and I are discussing and is always asking questions. so it's not a surprise that the kids picked up on "exercising". it's so funny what the kids pick up and turn into their own.

Kate and Jack "exercising"

*we are learning Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." this is actually going a lot better than I expected. we are learning about what anger means, what words/harsh are gentle and what words/actions are harsh. the kids have actually done very well with the memorization.

*we have several trips to my new home away from home, yumilicious. we have such a routine: give the kids sugar free chocolate and vanilla yogurt, let them pick out a few topping, plop them in a seat to devour their treat and Will and I go back to strategize who can make the best yogurt dessert ever known to man.

Jack licking his yogurt mustache

*thanks to our wonderful parents, Will and I got to go on a fabulous trip to the wine country (sans children). we stayed at one of our favorite hotels ever, ate great food and drank great wine.

*we have even done science projects: here we grew bean plants in baby food jars

*we have tried to beat the heat by staying in doors and doing lots and lots of art projects/drawings

*bandaid queen - we have spent a lot of time putting bandaids on Kate. she will not go to sleep without at least one on her body. this night, she insisted she had a boo-boo on both her forehead and chin. what a nut!!

well, that's a small taste of what we have been up to...

but stay tuned because we have two big projects to tackle in the upcoming weeks: big kid beds and - hold on to your hats - potty training!!!

summer fun days, II

2011-07-21T14:33:00.006-05:00

the spray park!!

I am not sure why I have waited this long to take the kids to the spray park, but it was an instant hit today! Actually, I do know why I have waited: 1. I thought it would be totally packed with older kids and J&K would get run over and 2. I was nervous that I would have a hard time keeping track of both of my children in such a public place. But I am happy to report that both fears were completely unnecessary!

The spray park had, at most, 10 children there at one time (almost all of which were around 2 - 5 yrs old) so it was easy for me to keep an eye on and play with J&K. For an added bonus, the park also had a fire station close by and a dart train that ran right by us. It was clean, had lots of shaded areas close by, the water was a perfect temperature and none of the spray toys scared the kids. What a great summer treat!!

checking it all out

you spray my back, and I'll spray yours!

lots of great ways to get wet =)

we can't wait to come back for more!!