Isaac's Tooth

Okay, I promised a picture but it isn't much. You can't SEE that it's loose but you can FEEL that it's loose. So just use your imagination. It's the tooth on the bottom, in the middle, and to your right. :)

The Wiggly Wobbly Tooth

Well, yesterday I was slammed with my baby turning one. Today I was slammed with my five year old saying, "Mommy, I have been wiggling my tooth all day!" I looked in his mouth and, sure enough, he is losing a tooth!! What?? It was just yesterday that my mom said, "Amy, come and feel inside of Isaac's mouth." I felt it and he was cutting his very first tooth, the very one that is falling out now. I got teary eyed 5 years ago and I got teary eyed today.
I have a mom that was and is good about letting go and accepting the now. Why am I not wired that way? I really don't like change. I don't want my kids to grow up...but I really do. Suck it up, Amy. Life goes on. Accept the change and go with the flow. Teeth fall out and daughters become mothers. Right?? Sheesh!
Well, I'll have a picture of Isaac tomorrow. He is SO excited. He's been waiting for this day ever since Bethany B. lost her first tooth. He asks me all the time when his teeth will fall out and today was one of the best days for him, ever! He called all of the grandparents and ran up to Jay as soon as he walked in the door from work. He can't keep his fingers out of his mouth. What a happy fella. That makes me smile.

My Baby Girl Is 1.

I can't believe that we celebrated Olivia's first birthday today. It just doesn't seem possible that it's been a year since we first met her. Every detail is still etched in my memory as if it all happened today...getting to the hospital early, waiting for a room for 2 hours, starting my IV, the power going out in the hospital, staring the IV again, waiting, visiting with Mom and Kara, telling Mom and Kara that I was kind of hurting, hearing Olivia's cry 6 minutes later, seeing my sweet baby girl but hurting too much to look at her :), the boys arriving with Jean and Jerry in a wheel chair (a nurse pushed the boys in a wheel chair for fun), the boys kissing and oohing and aahing all over their sweet little sister, Isaac telling me that Olivia looks like his cousin, Caitlin (I love that), being so exhausted, bringing Olivia home, putting a bow in her hair, the boys acting awful and me wondering what happened to my sons, the boys calming down, Olivia and Mommy time at 3 a.m. (I really did cherish that time SO much!!), Olivia's first laugh (I'll never forget it), and lots and lots and lots of other beginning memories. Why did it have to go so fast? Why am I so sad that she is growing up? Can you tell that I'm having a bit of a hard time with this?? I guess that I just realize that there is only a small window of time when your baby is just that...a baby. I have enjoyed my daughter. I know that I'll enjoy every stage...I just really liked this one. :) Oh well, time goes on and she has to grow up and learn new things. I'm excited about it. I'm moving on as I write. :)
Well, today was very sweet. It was so fun to not have a big party. It was just us. We took Olivia to the beach to celebrate her first year. She had a ball. We took a King size sheet with us (Ilene's great suggestion...and I'll always use it!!) for Liv to sit on. But it didn't last very long. She touched the sand and never went back. She dug into the sand with her hands and crawled all over the beach. She even sat in the water for awhile until the water came up too high and got her too cold!! It was very peaceful out there...which is perfect...Olivia's name means "peaceful one". Hmmm.
After the beach, we went to St. John's and ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Olivia got lots of sweet comments and looks from people in the restaurant. She had on her new pinafore from http://www.lassiegirl.etsy.com, my cousin's boutique. The wait staff came and sang "Happy Birthday" to Olivia and she was ALL SMILES!! She loves attention. Surely she didn't get that from my side of the family, or from her Daddy... She grinned from ear to ear as they sang and as she looked at her candle.
We came home and all took a late nap, the kids didn't wake up until 6:30. So...they were all finally in bed at 10:00. I took pictures today of each moment (and somehow I put the same "good morning" picture on twice...I don't know how to change it without starting all over!!): waking up, ready to go, the beach, restaurant, and bedtime. What a special day with our special girl. She really is our little princess.
My mom wrote "name" songs for all of my brothers and me when we were little. So, I passed on the tradition and wrote songs for my kids. Mom's were sweet and simple, mine might be a bit over the top. But, here is Olivia's (hers is much more simple than the boys...in other words, just a chorus, no verses or bridges. ha)

Olivia Anne, Olivia Anne
You are so sweet and pure.
Olivia Anne, Olivia Anne
You are love for sure.

The Tall Tall Tales Of Josiah

This is Josiah's story at bedtime. He loves to make up stories while I lay by him so that I will stay longer. His stories are very random and very...hmmm...Josiah. Also, this story has a bad guy that shoots people but Josiah is not violent, just a boy. :)

"When I was at Nana's house...I was cold...and I heard Nana in the kitchen...and there was this noise...brmmmchchbrmmmchch...it was a kitchen about this size (puts finger tips together to make a square) and it was green...then I heard this noise...brmmmchhchcbrmmmchch...and it was a fire...and she pushed this button...the button was on the um...the um...the um....the um...the um...the um...(The counter, I asked)no...the um...the um (plus about 15 more "the um's")...it was a button...and she pushed it and it was a fire...we were there...no we were not there...just I was there...and Papa was there...and he pushed the button...and then the fire came...and then the bad guy was out the window...and he was a bad guy that had fire...and then the bad guy was there...then he, he was the good guy...and then the bad guy had a gun...and he shoot us...but then I had a circle thing and I get the bad guy...and then he runned away...and then Papa and Nana pushed this button...and I was not cold anymore...The End!"

I wish that I could remember all of it and add in the sound effects. What a guy!

Oh, and Isaac said, "That story was sticky." And Josiah responded, "Yeah, ha, I got stuck!"

Now That's Funny!

I love my brothers. They all make me laugh so much. I wish that I could be around them more.
Today my sister-in-law, Shanna, (She makes me laugh as much as Zach and I love her and wish that I could be around her more, too. She is also a blog stalker. :)) sent me some great pictures of my brother, my boys, and me. I thought that if you liked my "jig" in the ocean, you are bound to like what comes next. By the way, Zach does not have an ounce of fat on his body, so I am really digging the double chin.

I GOT A PACKAGE!!

I love my friends. We had lived here about 3 days and I got a note in the mail from Mindy. It just made my day and made me realize how I had left some sisters behind. I always wanted a sister and now I have so many. First, God gave me Liz. What would I do without Liz?? Then, God gave me all of my college friends. I have some of the best memories from college!! Now, I have so many sisters from Dalhart. I am a very blessed woman. Am I really a woman? I still feel like a teenager. Anyway, on the day that I started feeling kinda lonely and wishing I had a good sister-friend here with me, along comes a package. Our family had come home from a meeting at the church and there was a package at the door. Neither Jay nor I could remember ordering anything that we were expecting. And from the car, I could see handwriting on the package. I got so excited because I just KNEW it was something from a friend. And it was!!! Amy Latini and Rachel Miersma (sisters) put a "gift basket" together for me. Part of what I got was a really great cookbook that I'm really excited to use. They filled up the box with so many things that it felt like Christmas. Also, Rachel and her family sent stuff for the boys (Webkinz...which they have never had and now won't put down) and an educational purse for Olivia's birthday. Yeah, who would have thought that a purse could educate a gal?? Everyone was so excited as we stood around the box and kept pulling stuff out. But I must say that the most excited of all was Jay Wright. Rachel sent him his favorite...Twizzlers. Thanks Amy and Rachel, we love you so much!! Oh man, I really miss everyone right now!!

I Followed Your Advice

We decided to make fun out of a dreary day. We did actually get out for awhile and joined the library, YMCA, and we ate lunch at Moe's Southwest Grill. Oh man, Moe's was very good! It tasted like home. :) Jay and I also start with a personal trainer at the YMCA on Monday. Pray for us, ha!
Anyway, back to the real story. The boys went with Jay to Target to buy some rain boots. Of course, they came home with Cars boots and they were SO excited about them. We went to play in the rain but it stopped raining. Josiah was having fun until a fire truck drove past and he thought that it was a tiger in the woods. He is hilarious. So he ran back to the porch for cover. The rain boot thing lasted for about 10 minutes and we came inside to build that good ol' fort. They thought that the fort was the best thing they had ever experienced. We played in it all afternoon. Olivia even made her way inside and stared, wide-eyed, at the boys' "room". By the way, some of the pictures seem fuzzy because the humidity fogs up my new lens!!! UGH!! Oh well, I still like it. :)
Thanks for the fun ideas. If tomorrow is just as wet, we'll do the shaving cream thing. Or maybe we should save that for another rainy day!