Dear Annie,

Time is going by so quickly! You are my baby girl and I am so glad I get to hold you and love you every single day for every single moment.


You love to play! Sometimes we play hide and seek together. You always hide in the same spots- by your tall cupboard and behind the green recliner. Sometimes I hide and then you come hide with me.

You love to look at books with me; this is my favorite time of day. I will sit in the green chair in your room and you will toddle to the closet, dig through your pile of books until you find the perfect one (usually "All About Me")-exclaim "Oooo" with your mouth all round- and then you come back to the chair where I pull you on my lap and we snuggle and read. You don't say many of the words yet, but you love to point at the pictures and make silly sounds! You have said a few new words this month. You now say "eye", "cracker", "book", and you are trying so hard to say "Will". You always tell me when you get hurt by saying "ow".

Will doesn't play with you a lot, but when he does you two just giggle and giggle. He is very protective over you and makes sure that you are being taken care of and aren't getting hurt. He's going to take good care of you when you are both bigger and in school. When Will is in preschool we have our special "girl time" that I look forward to. This is usually when we play our games.

You love it when I put you on the counter in your bumbo to do your hair. We play "Beauty Shop" and you play with your toothbrush and hair clips and patiently wait for me to make your hair pretty (although it usually only last for a few minutes). You had your haircut for the first time by mommy's friend Marissa, and your bob looks so sweet on you.
Your Daddy loves to snuggle you! You are a very affectionate little girl and will give anyone kisses and hugs if we ask you to. Daddy can also make you giggle better than anyone else, just like he always has! When Daddy comes home from school you always get a big smile on your face and wait for him to pick you up.

Your favorite toys are still your stuffed animals. Grandma Kristie just gave you a new bear that you take everywhere with your pink kitty. Stuffed animals litter our house because you are always carrying one around!

I wish I could freeze you just the way you are. I am trying to write down everything you do that makes us smile so that when you are a big girl I can look back and remember how much love and happiness you brought into our home.

Thank you for being my little girl,
Mommy

Time Out

I put children in time out countless times each day. (Literally. The other day I babysat, and at least one child was in time out for about the first hour. I kept track, and the kids were in time out 15 times between 9-11:30AM!) I decided it was time for ME to get a time out.

So that's exactly what I got- to hang out with some of my favorite people, eat incredible food, and talk about some of the finer things in life.

I love time out. I'm ready to conquer the world now.

You CAN have your cake and eat it too.

Will turned 4 today. The fact that I am even writing that sentence baffles me. You don't realize how quickly time flies until you have kids. It's odd because I don't really remember Will as a baby anymore- he just seems like he's always been my big boy, and Annie is the baby. At the same time, I'm quite certain that I just brought him home from the hospital.
We had cake, Cookies and Cream ice cream (Will's choice), and of course more presents to celebrate the occasion. This year Will requested a Thomas the Train cake. After crumbling one cake, and accidentally thawing the butter in the microwave for 5 minutes rather than 5 seconds, I am amazed that he got exactly what he wanted. I don't think it topped his Dinoco McQueen cake from last year, but I was still pleased with my mad cake skills. I hope my kids remember these cakes because, dang it, they sure take a lot of time and effort!

Will got a "Shark Attack" Hotwheels track and Bumblebee and Optimus Prime for his birthday from us and his Great Grandma Kaiserman. He also got a card from his Great Grandma Nicoll with $2 so he went to Smith's and picked out 2 blue Hotwheels cars. Don't you wish you could remember what you got on your 4th birthday?
We sure love Will and all of the funny things he says. He is the greatest. We sure love you, big boy!

What would you like to do for your Birthday?

About a month ago....
Mom: What would you like to do for your birthday, Will?
Will: Um, maybe have a party?
Mom: Okay. What do you want to do for your party?
Will: Maybe we could go to McDonald's and play at their park?
Mom: That's a good idea! Who do you want to invite?
Will: How about Grace, Julian and Peter.
Mom: Sounds great!

Grace Perkins, Will, Julian Thomas, and Peter Haas

I must say, it was the best idea ever! No clean up, no prep, no spending money on little treat bags, no making cupcakes. We all went to McDonald's, each kid got a happy meal, a toy, and an ice cream cone, and they played for an hour until it was time to hop back in the car and go to preschool together. They couldn't have been more excited!

The best was when Will got this from his friend Julian:

Kids- you gotta love 'em!

A Different Kind of Scooter

Will is days away from celebrating his 4th birthday. This last weekend when I went to my Mom's to can peaches (we did 54 quarts in under 4 hours!) we also had a mini party for him so my parents could give him his birthday present. My Mom bought cupcakes, we sang, Will's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he unwrapped a brand new scooter.

He spent a lot of time on it yesterday and he already thinks he's a pro. He says he can do wheelies and everything (mind you, this is all happening while the scooter is stationary).

He's such a fun kid, and we can't wait to celebrate his birthday with him this week.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

We've always known Annie was a little sugar and a lot of spice, but we didn't know she was going to be such trouble. She is learning what "bedroom time" is rather fast these days as she picks on kids twice her size (literally pulling them to the ground and reducing them to tears), throws 3-year-old-size tantrums, and keeps me super busy picking up after her a gillion times a day. When we can't find Annie, Dallas says "Check the garbages." That's usually where we can find her.

Those eyes help us forget how naughty she can be sometimes.

Mockingjay

If you haven't finished the third book in The Hunger Games series, Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins- go do it now- then read this post. SPOILER ALERT!****

I LOVE The Hunger Games. Since I started the series in January the books have been on my mind often. I love the characters- especially Katniss and her selflessness towards her sister and Peeta and his calm demeanor in the face of so much fear. To say I was excited to read Mockingjay would be an understatement.

I finished the last book over a week ago, and at this point I can say that I did like the book. It still drew me in, although I have to admit that I felt the novel to be a little rushed. (I feel this way with most final novels in a series. Maybe it's because I don't really want them to end????) I feel like so much happened during the rebellion that I would have liked more time to really digest all that was going on. This didn't keep me from enjoying the book though.

The part I had the hardest time with was when Prim died. I was prepared for Katiniss or Peeta or Gale, but Prim?! I was caught completely off guard. I can honestly say that I think Collins picked the right person to sacrifice; I feel it brought the novels full circle. Especially the more I think about it, I don't think another character would have elicited the feelings that came out of me as I finished the book.

I was so sad.

I was crying and felt that the characters- especially Katniss- were left almost inhuman; an empty shell in a world that robbed her of every last piece of her self. I finished the novel through tears and went to bed sobbing. Literally.

That's when I knelt down for my night prayer.

I have a pretty good relationship with my Heavenly Father. When I pray I tell Him how I'm feeling at that moment and I know He understands me. I was prepared to tell Him how sad I was feeling and ask Him to help me feel better. I had no sooner started my prayer than I had the most overwhelming feeling of love come over me.

Clear as a bell I could hear Him say, "You have no reason to be sad. You have a Savior."

Peace.

I will forever be grateful for this book for how it further built my testimony of the Savior and the love he has for us. No matter how alone and broken we feel, he is there. He is the great mender of feelings and broken hearts. So, be of good cheer, He has overcome the world.

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Isaiah 41:10

Firsts

Time continues to fly.....

FIRST BABY

FIRST YEAR

FIRST STEPS

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Will played "Miss Katie" (that is the name of his teacher) with his best buddy Grace last night as they were anticipating their first day; I think he has been more excited for this event than he has for anything in his life thus far. Every new discovery is wondrous and magical. It's the reward for all of the tantrums, endless meals, cleaning up, and soothing that we do as parents.

I asked him what his favorite part of his first day at preschool was and he said, "Everything... and playing with Playdoh." I was so happy to see his smiling face. He just seemed so grown up today. The best part was when I told him he got to go two times next week, on Tuesday and Thursday, and he said, "You mean I get to do it again?!" The kid totally thought preschool was a one day gig. What a monkey.

Will,

I hope you get to enjoy everything in this world because you deserve it my big boy. Thank you for always making me laugh and keeping me in line.

I love you a million billion zillion.

Mom

PS- Annie and I will miss you.

After a delicious tuna lunch....

Dallas: I'm still hungry. What else is there to eat?
Amy: There are some carrots, or an apple or banana.
Dallas: I want something real.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Labor Day is the last day of Summer as far as I'm concerned, so we partied it out with shotguns, shopping, Frisbee, tag, and food. Good times were had by all.
My kids are so blessed to have cousins and uncles that they love to play with, and I'm so grateful that my siblings and I all get along and that we look forward to seeing each other.

Goodbye Summer!!!

Dear Fall,
I love you. I love your colors. I love your sweaters. I love your soups and cakes. I love your harvest, especially your fresh peaches. I love your Shakespeare Workshops. I love your spooky movies. I love your change of pace. I love your TV shows. I love your holidays.
Thank you for coming every year.
All yours,
Amylee

I love these people. Real, or not real?

REAL

Push and Pull

I didn't think I would run the Swiss Days 10K that was taking place in Midway today... until my friend Mindy Kohler tempted me with having all of us wear our socks from the Ragnar.
HOW COULD I RESIST THAT?

Mindy Kohler, Laura Means, Audra Thomas, Amy, Holly Roylance

I couldn't.
So, we suited up in our gnarly socks and we all ran a personal best. I took 2nd place in my division and 14th overall finishing the 10K in 47:50.5 with an average of 7 minutes and 41 seconds/mile. There were about 600 runners in this race. I was so proud of myself! Darcy and I pushed and pulled each other along all the way to the end, again. What would I do without such an awesome running partner? I will tell you what I'd do- walk. It's good to have someone that pushes you along sometimes.
Did I mention that I won a hat? Because I did. And it's awesome.

FINISHERS!! Me, Darcy Haas, Mindy, Audra, Laura