Aquarium and Butterfly Garden

Since we scheduled Naomi's birthday party for a couple of weeks after her actual birthday, we decided to take her to the Aquarium on the Saturday after her birthday.  We decided to go to the Children's Aquarium in Fair Park.  With our zoo membership we get a discount and everything is pretty low to the ground for little kids.  We loved petting the stingrays and Naomi wanted to camp-out next to the jellyfish tank.  While we were down there, we also had time to check out the Butterfly Exhibit at the Discovery Gardens which was also enjoyable.

Naomi - 3 Years Old!

I can't believe Naomi is already 3!  Above is her eating her special waffle breakfast on her birthday morning.  Below is her wearing a crown that came in her card from Emi (what Naomi calls Brian's mom).  

Some basic stats - about 29 lbs, around 3 feet (I forgot to write it down at the doctor's office), and wears some 2T and some 3T. 

Favorite Shows - Octonauts, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Doc McStuffins.  She also likes Mickey Mouse, Princess Sofia and Little Einsteins, but not as much as the others. 

Favorite Thing to Do - Run around in circles, playing chase and tickle tag. 

Favorite Foods - Anything sweet - cake, cookies, lollipops (no clue where she got that from *chuckle*).  We are having to make a very purposeful effort to teach good nutrition and keep junk food out of the house. 

Highlights of the Last Year - the Zoo, Disneyland, the Beach, and the Arboretum's Children's Garden. 

Biggest Accomplishment - Potty Trained!

My Favorite Things about Naomi (buckle down, I may not be able to stop once I get going) -
 - Listening to her sing songs from MDO, church, and tv
 - Listening to her (and Olivia) laugh as they tickle tag each other
 - Watching her imaginitive play explode this year
 - Her silliness
 - Listening to her pray
 - Her eagerness to help out with cooking and cleaning
 - Her cuddles, snuggles, hugs (especially the bowl you over kind), kisses, laughter
 - Her vocabulary and nonstop commentary / chatter about everything and anything
 - That she is both a princess and a pirate!  Let's put on some makeup and play with an RC car! 
 - When she says that Mommy, Daddy and Olivia are her best friends.  I know someday she won't say that, so I'm soaking it up.  :)

2014 Goals

Here it is...

2014 Goals

1.  Do the Infuse daily devotional through The Heights app and learn the memory verses throughout the year. 

2.  Lose 20-40 lbs.  I left this as a range because my plan was to lose the other half of the "baby" weight which would have been 30 lbs but since I fell short last year, I still have 40 to go.  So, there you have it - realistic and dreamy.  

3.  Finish settling into the house - Get stuff hung on the walls, unpack all boxes, purge as necessary and ultimately get both cars parked in the garage by the end of the year.  

4.  Read a book this year.  Apparently four was too lofty a goal, so I'll start small this time.

5.  Nurture our girls - Continue to do crafts with the girls.  Hopefully start teaching Naomi to write some letters.  Potty train Olivia.  Go over the memory verses with them as well.  Continue praying with them and enriching their prayer life.  

6.  Be a better friend.  I'm an introvert who has trouble making new friends (some of you are surprised which means that I clearly missed my calling to be an actress).  I also don't have a lot of really close friendships (I really treasure the few I have).  I haven't had a "BFF", other than Brian of course, in well over a decade.  It's my own fault.  I'm not really a great friend - I don't initiate plans often and I'm not really that thoughtful.  (One of those silly little quizzes said my Big Bang Theory character is Sheldon which should give some of you a fair glimpse into my personality.)  So I'm going to make an effort to initiate plans and try to really be there for my friends in deeds as well as words.  

7.   Say yes more.  I know a lot of women who probably have saying no more as a goal.  They over-book themselves and feel strained by it.  I, however, need to say yes more.  

8.  Keep up with my blog which has turned into a family scrapbook for us.  

9. and 10.  Mmmm... to be determined.  :)  Gotta leave one or two slots open for whatever life throws my way this year.  

Recap 2013 Goals

My Goals for 2013

1) Read my Jesus Calling Devotional daily - This started out well, but sorta fizzled out.  I did read it a bunch when we took the girls to CA and it helped me keep sane.  We also read it a bit during the home selling process. 

2) Lose half of my baby weight gain (i.e. 30 pounds) - This started out strong.  I lost 20 lbs in the first quarter.  Even with slow down I was on track to complete this goal until we sold our house and moved.  I stalled out at 25 lbs down and actually gained 5 back during the moving / settling in / Holiday process.  

3) Organize my house - With selling the house this actually pretty much got accomplished.  Unfortunately some of the quick fix organizing resulted in tossing things in a box to deal with later, so there is that...

4) Read at least 4 books this year - This definitely did not happen.  I may have started 4 books (not even sure about that), but I didn't finish a single one.  

5) Do more activities like crafts and stuff with my girls - Accomplished and still working on it...


Honestly, I'm really dissapointed that I didn't achieve #2 and I've spent a good bit of head-space beating myself up about it, but I'm done with that.  Pointless and destructive.  

#1 was at least somewhat fruitful.  I definitely reach for the Word when stressed which is good.  Now to just stay in it all the time...

#4 I just shrug my shoulders at and know that someday...

Christmas 2013

So we are one of those families that has about four Christmases.  So come along with us on our Christmas Spree!

Christmas Eve Eve - Extended Family
Unfortunately I have no pictures from this evening.  I just didn't even think about it.  It was a lot of fun.  Olivia toddled about a bit, got held and fawned over by almost everyone, and enjoyed opening her gifts.  Naomi had a blast running around with everyone, hanging out with her cousins, opening gifts and stealing a car.  Okay, so it wasn't a real car.  She hijacked an RC car that one of her cousins got.  She loved it so much!

Christmas Eve - Dinner with Emily, Alex, Terah and Nick
We were privileged to get to host Christmas Eve dinner.  We cooked up a beautiful tenderloin with a mushroom wine sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad and spicy cheese bread.  Olivia was feeling really clingy so we didn't manage to get it served at the time that we had planned on, but it was delicious nevertheless.  I did think to take some pics this time.

 Nick's AT-AT Imitation

 He was so excited about his new toy!

 The girls loved playing with their new stuff. 

Christmas Morning
We've begun the tradition of reserving Christmas morning for just the four of us.  We stay in our PJs (except Olivia because her diaper leaked over her matching Christmas PJs) and we enjoyed a leisurely time opening and playing with gifts and eating breakfast.  Comically, Naomi zipped right past her Santa gifts and went right over to a gift that she'd gotten the night before and apparently had been dreaming of all night.

Christmas Dinner
My mom and stepdad came over and we had a lovely dinner and opened gifts.  They also helped assemble one of the gifts that Santa apparently had some difficulty delivering assembled (a Cozy Coupe).  Good times and pics below...

Our last Christmas was delayed since my brother Derek was sick, but we had a great time a week later and it was kinda nice to get to hold on to Christmas a bit longer.  Here are some pics...

Oh and we had one final little mini-Christmas opening the girls' gifts from their Grandpa Ken and Grandma Gloria (they live MI - UPers).  (Please ignore the state of Naomi's hair - it was a very laid back kinda day).  

It was a great Christmas! 

Lots of Updates to the Blog

I've done a lot of blog catch-up.  

So, in case you've missed it, here are links to all the retro posts, just click on the title of each post:

Olivia's Birthday Invitation

Naomi's First Haircut

Fall Festival 2013

College Football Season

Pumpkin Pickin' Playdate

Halloween 2013

Selling Our House

New House

Another Fun Day at the Zoo

Bye Bye Pacis


I'm hoping to get the rest of the way caught up soon.  :)  I love having this has our family's little digital scrapbook (and printing out a hard copy book each year), so I'm determined to get back on it.  
 

 

Bye Bye Pacis!

We are now a pacifier free house!  Yippee! 

Let me start with an ode to Paci:
Paci, oh how I've loved you.  You were so very useful for calming my sweet little ones (at least as long as you weren't missing).  You saved my sanity on multiple occassions.  I'm so glad you were invented and I don't care who wants to judge me for using you.  You were a godsend.  But those days are over and so we must bid you a fond farewell. 

Yes, I'm silly. 

We had long ago restricted Naomi's paci usage to just the crib and had recently done the same for Olivia.  Naomi had been quite attached to hers though I new she no longer "needed" it and I could tell that Olivia was beginning to develop an attachment as well.  It was time to get rid of it all around.  I just wanted to rip off the band aid with both kids at once and be done with it once and for all.  Plus, I suspected that if I just took Naomi's away, she would just go retrieve Olivia's and it would just cause drama. 
So here is a breakdown of how it went for each kid:

Naomi
Age - about 2.75 years old
Temperament - A little on the spirited side
Method - The Paci Fairy - We decorated up a box to put the pacis in and place outside her room at night.  We had talked about the Paci fairy coming to take her pacis to babies in need and leaving her a treat in return.  Once she could explain it back to us, we figured it was a go. 
Results - Night one, no issues.  Morning one, yay for her Paci Fairy loot!  Night two, she asked for her pacis, we reminded her where they went, she went to check Olivia's bed to snag one of hers (proving to me that I know my girl pretty well, she's resourceful), and she had some slight bedtime issues.  Night three, she asked and we reminded her but really went pretty well.  At this point, it's all good. 

Olivia
Age - about 15 months
Temperament -  Tends to be more laid back
Method - Mostly just cold turkey - We did the paci fairy with her as well just to be consistent and so Naomi could see that Olivia was giving hers up too.  Olivia was too young to really get it though so really it was just a cold turkey and deal with it kind of thing. 
Results - Several nights and naps of crying for several minutes before giving up and going to sleep.  Basically, it just plain sucked for several days, but she was over it by the end of the week. 

So, there you have it.  All in all, it wasn't too bad and I'm glad to have it done. 

If you're planning to get rid of Paci's soon too, then good luck to you! 

Oh, and PS, another idea for older toddlers (like Naomi's age) that I really liked involves taking the pacis to the store and using them to "buy" a cool toy or big kid item like a tricycle, bicycle or scooter type of thing.  They pick out their thing and give the box of pacis to the sales associate.  I heard of this idea after we'd already gone down the paci fairy road, but I think I like it slightly better and is especially good for those parents who steer clear of all things "not real" like Santa, tooth fairy, etc (clearly, I'm not one of those parents, but I have several friends who prefer that and I get it and respect it).