Hair and Flowers...

Have you ever seen such hair on a two-year-old?

Hair that can even go up in a bun?!

Or so much hair on a 7 month old??

So much that I have to put it up so that it won't be in her face ... but her brother says it looks like a water fountain!

And how about that brother?? He is such a funny guy!

This is a snap dragon flower, mom! he says...

Because when you smell it, it snaps to your face, like this!  Hilarious!!

Love these cute, smart kiddos of mine!

The Many Looks of Maecie

Maecie has been quite the little fashionista lately ... She will dress herself, then change her clothes at least 3 times a day. Her latest fascination has been with bathing suits and boots. But not necessarily together...

When all else fails, a tutu will suffice!

I got my running shoes on!

I'm a pretty, princess and don't you forget it!

Yep, I won the fight and got to wear my bathing suit to bed...

Wearing another tutu for a birthday party!

"CHAAAEESSE"

So what if it's 85 degrees outside? I got new boots and I'm not afraid to wear them.

Love, Love, Love this girl! 

Now if only we could get out of this defiant two-year-old phase...

Cute Outfits ... Cute Girls!!

This weekend kicked off our Waterslide-A-Palooza (more pics to come on that later). As soon as she could, Maecie wanted to put on her "babin' suit". And after she had that on, she then found her tennis shoes and wanted those on. All together, she looked like a cute girl ready for a run!

She was even stretching for the day!

Later in the week, I began to pull out clothes for Lucie, realizing that I needed to start dressing her in her 3-6 month clothes or else we would lose the window on some great outfits! Here is one of my favorites!

Look at that color ... those polka dots! What's not to love?! 

Had to include this way cute face!

And just so you know, she is always on the roll, here is a way cute pic of my sweet baby!! Love love love her!!!

How did I get so lucky to have such adorable girls??

Memorable Mom Moments

I think there is probably a "kodak moment" or a "kids say the darndest things" moment every day in my house. With an almost 5 year old boy, a 2 year old girl, and a newborn, things are anything but dull!!

This morning, between bites of waffle, Maecie and I have the following exchange:
Maecie: Hey, Mom! Old McDonald had a farm.
Me: Oh yeah? Did he say E-I-E-I-O?
Maecie: Yeah, with a moo moo here and a moo moo there.

It was so very matter-of-fact that I felt like we totally had a conversation!

Later, while riding in the car, Clayton and I have our own chat:
Clayton: Mom, I'm afraid of the dark.
Me: Well, since it's still light out (1pm), we don't have to worry about that yet.
Clayton: But I'm scared of the light in my room too.
Me: That could be a problem if you don't like the light or the dark.
Clayton: Yeah, I need a Dream Light (as seen on TV!). Then I won't be scared.
Me: *chuckle* Oh really?!
Clayton: And some Stompeez too!

Gotta love commercials that hit their target audience! And how "grown" of him to come up with reasons as to why he needs these products. His intelligence both suprises and intimidates me...we are in for a scary teenage stage!

And of course, Lucie just wants to be held and fed and put to bed! She doesn't demand much at all right now. But I can tell we are going to have some of our own precious moments soon.

How did I get so lucky to have such great kids?!

Summertime!

It's Summer around here, and to celebrate, we headed to the splash pad to play in the water!

Clayton showing off his skills!

Maecie, the biggest water lover of all!!

Lucie in her swimwear, even though she didn't get wet!

Maecie Sings the Hits!

The next STAR!! (But I might be biased!)

Two is So Sweet!

Maecie Jane turned 2 years old on April 1st! She has brought so much joy to our family and we couldn't imagine life without her!

At the age of 2, Maecie.....

*Loves shoes and chocolate (mama's girl!)

*Loves ketchup with her eggs (a daddy thing!)

*Likes to play dress up, wear bracelets and necklaces

*Likes to swing and play in the sandbox

*Enjoys following her big brother around and copying his every move (sometimes kinda scary!)

*Favorite TV shows are Dora or Diego and Bubble Guppies

*Likes to color ... sometimes on herself and on the walls

*Likes to play with playdough

Maecie has the sweetest smile, the most hair I've ever seen on a 2 yr old, and has all of the men in her life wrapped around her finger!

Maecie on the swing with her crocs on the wrong feet ... cause she is "Miss Independent" and demands to do things all on her own!

She loves her new baby sister, Lucie ... likes to check on her and give her kisses!

This girl loves her Dora and to accessorize!

My Best Efforts

Being 35 weeks pregnant, with 2 kids, rearranging the house to make room for baby, leading an after school chorus program and various church activities, leads to an exhausted mom! So needless to say, little things (like this blog!) fall by the wayside. So here is my attempt to catch up for the past month:

Making bread makes me extremely happy these days. Something about fresh-from-the-oven yeasty goodness brings a smile to my face!

Clayton got a new bed ... it's a loft bed so we could have maximum space in his new room! He's quite excited!

The "terrible twos" have reared their ugly head and I'm hoping it doesn't last long! This is what happens when you go on a walk and Maecie wants to hold the dog leash, even though it will result in her falling flat on her face, and you don't give in immediately. She knows how to work that pitiful look!

My Valentine's Day attempt. Tried to show some love and that's about all that I could come up with. We were on a low-key celebration this year. But Clayton thought it was the best! And sometimes, that's all that matters.

When all else fails, give them a laundry basket and see what they come up with! Entertain themselves and let their imagination flow!! Here, we are rowing the boat.

So just 4 weeks left, and I'm ready to go. We don't have a definite name (hoping it comes to us soon!) and I don't have all of my newborn clothes out yet. Nor have I bought diapers. (Pitiful, mommy!) But if she came tomorrow, I would be okay with that.

Perfectly Pleased with Playdough

Oh, the simple things that make the kids smile, not fight, and be creative .... for a few minutes anyway!

Tea Time!

It was 6:00pm and the kids had finished dinner. All they wanted to do was watch TV. And I did not want them spending all evening in front of our big screen, sitting on the couch. I had at least an hour to "waste" before we start our bedtime routine. So what's a mom to do??

Duh! A Tea Party!!

I set up a small table, pulled out all of Maecie's tea set items, filled a dish with an assortment of cookies, and pulled out the dress up clothes. Maecie had a few scarves, purses, and tutus. But Clayton doesn't necessarily have dress up items. So I grabbed a dress shirt of his and a tie of Patrick's.

I then told the kids we would be having a tea party and the needed to come get dressed. It was easy to get Clayton in his dress up items. But all Maecie would agree to was a tutu. (The 'terrible two's'/Miss Independent stage is in full swing!)

Next, I opened the door to Maecie's room and had the kids take a seat. I spoke in my most proper English accent (with a bit of southern mixed in, mind you) and explained to them that we would have our treats and tea to partake of. We started out pretending and then came the real food.

That was when the kids got really excited! Who knew that water, animal crackers, Scooby Snack graham crackers, and a Hershey Kiss could be that thrilling?!

And apparently, Maecie wanted to dress up in Clayton's clothes, since this is what she

They had a ball, and so did I! It didn't take to much effort, as the end of my pregnancy is creating more exhaustion at the end of the day, and we spent some fun times together. Love my kiddos and their fun-loving attitudes!

A Girl and Her Shoes

I don't think that I have "taught" Maecie to love shoes; it's just something that has come natural to her. If she sees a pair of shoes, she has to try them on. If she likes them, have fun getting them off again!

No, she can't count to 10. She doesn't know what a cow says. But she can say "shoes" and "chocolate". Sounds like she's got it right to me!

Sibling Love

Can all siblings be this cute?!

Maecie will rarely hold my hand when walking in parking lots or down the street. However, she loves her big brother and will hold his hand. And for now, he likes to hold her hand too! I hope they love each other like this forever!

Happy Halloween!

Such a Great Age!

At 4 years old, Clayton is so much fun to be with. He has his favorite toys to play with (dinosaurs-the T-rex ones that like to eat everyone else), his favorite TV shows (which for now is Wild Kratts that talks about animals and their environment and such, cute, but cheesy!), and even his favorite foods (which have branched out to include broccoli and green beans! One happy mama here!). Everytime he sees a commercial, he figures out who might best benefit from the product shown, and then proceeds to tell me why that person would want one. So when it's a baby doll, he will say "Maecie would be so happy with that doll mom!". Or if it's an action toy, "Mom, that's so cool! Can you buy me one of those?!". Or my favorites, the latest steam mop, to which he says, "Mom, if you buy that mop, you can really get the house clean!".

There is just never a dull moment! Clayton is also loving school and enjoys doing his homework. I love that he gets excited when he writes his name or when he counts to 20 without missing a number. It is refreshing to this mama's teacher heart!

At almost 18 months old, Maecie follows everyone around and tries to imitate what we do and say. So while I am cleaning, she wants to grab a towel and wipe the floors or counters too. While Clayton is bouncing on his bed, she wants to bounce too. And even better, when we fold our arms to say family or mealtime prayers, she folds her arms too!

As her vocabulary increases, she is sure to tell us when something is "mine" and she doesn't want you to take it away. Or grabbing our faces and honking our noses since she can now say and identify "nose". She loves to dance around when she hears music, and especially loves "pat-a-cake" and "itsy-bitsy spider" since she can do all of the movements.

Yep, I'd say 4 years and 18 months are great ages!! Love those kids of mine...

Babes in Arms

Tomorrow my little princess will be 14 months old. She is growing incredibly fast and I am often wanting for her to go back to a different stage or at least slow down. She has brought so much joy to our family, that I am wanting her to stay small forever.

When Maecie was about 9 months old, she stopped letting me rock her to sleep at night. She wanted to be put in her bed when she was tired. I could close the door and walk away and she would just fall asleep! Clayton was a good baby, but he was never this way. He still wants to sleep in our bed sometimes, even though he is almost 4.

I was really pretty excited when Maecie would do this. How cool that this little girl would want to go to bed and not fight it!

However, the older she gets, the less I like this. I want to hold her, to rock her, to snuggle her. Since she is always on the move, these things don't happen often.

The other day, Maecie was extremely tired. Probably over tired and over stimulated with all of the activities we had going on that day. She was ready for a nap, but after I layed her down, she screamed! I mean, she screamed and screamed and was making herself hoarse! So I went back in. She then picked up her blanket and reached for me. So we sat in the rocking chair and rocked. She snuggled in close and fell asleep. I didn't want to wake her up if she wasn't out, and let's face it, I didn't want to give up this moment, so we rocked for a while. I hummed songs, stroked her hair, and savored each minute.

How do these children grow up so fast? How do they know just what they want at the exact minute and so easily communicate this to us? And how do we make the most of each moment?

I don't know the answer to the first two, other than this is the plan and the way it works. But for the latter, I just know that I have to slow down and enjoy the moments I do have. Rock Maecie to sleep when she will let me....let Clayton climb in my bed in the middle of the night once in a while ... laugh at their jokes and their quick wit .... and wipe away their tears when things don't go their way.

Beares Say the Darndest Things!

I took Clayton to the grocery store with me tonight. He needed some one-on-one time with mommy. He did so good throughout the store and when he behaves, he gets to ride "Harry the Dragon". At checkout, he met a ballerina friend and she talked to him during his ride. Their conversation went like this:

Ballerina: Hey, I want to ride that thing!

Clayton: Do you have any money?

Balleria: No, but my mommy does.

Clayton: Well, next time you will have to bring some money. You have to have money to have fun!

While I was making dinner, Patrick and Maecie were standing in the kitchen with me. I tend to have music on while making dinner or cleaning the house. It makes things more fun! So Patrick proceeds to start dancing. Maecie looks up at him with a curious look on her face. She then puts her head down and runs to me! Apparently Daddy's dancing was too much to handle.

Later, he dances again, and Maecie put her hands over her eyes! Haha! I guess you don't have to be more than a year old to have your parents embarrass you!

So Hard to Be a Princess

The other day, Maecie was ready to go outside. It is her most favorite thing to do. However, I do require her to wear shoes. So she was asked to wait while we put on her shoes ... she was NOT happy about it!

The Big ONE!

Depending on when you read this, my little girl will be turning One-Year-old today ... or tomorrow ... or yesterday ... her birthday is April 1st. And as I prepare for her rather large birthday party, I am a little sad!

Maecie has been such a sweet baby! She has a happy disposition ... loves to smile at everyone. She can have a terrible cold and still manage a grin big enough to change anyone's day. She has always slept well. She has always gone with the flow of whatever craziness her brother and parents may put her through. And tomorrow marks 12 months of her being a part of our family.

At 1 year, Maecie has 8 teeth ... she can walk/run ... she likes to put the stackable rings around her wrists and wear them as bracelets ... she knows where her shoes are, but not her eyes or nose (and of course this makes me smile!) ... she can say "dada" (her first word), "mama", "byebye" , and "hi"... she likes to eat and eats everything we feed her ... she enjoys playing in the sandbox in the backyard ... and is becoming more and more independent everyday!

Maecie Jane Beare is her Daddy's Little Girl ... her Mommy's Princess ... and her Big Brother's Friend (so he says now). She adds so much happiness to our family and we are so glad she chose to be a part of it!

Now I just hope that she will slow down and stop growing so fast!