He made my night!

It's amazing how one little tiny phrase from one little tiny person can make you feel like your sitting on top of the world...

Tonight I thought I would do something silly for the McRoCkStaR and let him pretend shave in the shower with whip cream and a craft brush. I covered his face with whip cream and he had a ball scrapping it into his mouth. Then I gave him a water bottle to "clean" the shower for me. I let him play for a while and when he got out there was warm pj's and a hot towel straight from the dryer ready and waiting to wrap him up. After he got dressed he turned to me and said, "You are the BEST MOM!" Then he gave me a kiss and said "Love ya mom."

My heart melted. Right now he is balancing a fine line where he wants so hard to be a big boy but still be babied sometimes too, so sometimes we battle about which side of that line he is on or needs to get on. Already he tries at all cost to avoid holding my hand when we are out and about. And I've always called him boo boo but today he demanded I never call him that again because "boo boo is for babies and I am NOT a baby".

Maybe I do baby him a little too much, but what can I say he IS and ALWAYS will be my BABY BOY. I wish I could scoop him every night and snuggle him and rock him to sleep but alas, I will settle for the occasional moments when he wraps his little arms around me and snuggles into my neck for five seconds, the whispered secrets he loves to share, being the sole audience member to his random rock concerts or sidekick to whichever superhero he is that day - I will always and forever cherish this time where he still lets me into his make believe world. I only hope and pray that as he continues to grow into a big boy I will still be able to say that he lets me in...in for the occasional hugs, a few whispered secrets and into his world where make believe is left behind and reality and possibility await.

It's begining to look a lot like Florida Christmas...

I am in L-O-V-E with Christmas time! Everything about it. The bustle of busy holiday shoppers, the lights at night, nativity scenes, the red and green everywhere, decorating for Santa, family outings, Christmas movies, crafting, baking Christmas cookies and goodies, mall Santa's, dressing the whole family up for Christmas pics, the possibilities to witness miracles and celebrate the most special birth of all...Whats not to Love.

We didn't go all out with our decorations this year since we will be spending Christmas elsewhere, but we of course we had to put up our trees. :) And thanks to my most vary special cuzzie and the Stokes Bunch, we adopted a little Elf helper for the Holidays and named him Floppy Tutu. Bentley wants to love him, and by love I mean squeeze and shake till he breaks kinda love, and McCoy loves waking up every morning and searching for the Elf's new hiding place. We have really enjoyed Floppy Tutus visit thus far and are going to be sad when he has to go back to the North Pole. We have been having so much fun so far this December. It has even been very cool here, almost dare I say "chilly" even. We have busted out our beanies and mittens. Preparing ourselves for the real cold weather we are going to be facing soon. We are so excited for Christmas this year and have been counting down the days. McCoy has his Christmas chain going and takes a link of everyday. And everyday he gets that same excited grin when he says, "Only X more days till Christmas!"

McCoy's latest comments....

Talking to the Wii/TV: "Would you quit with the commentary already! We got it!"

Talking to Daddy: "Dad, you know better, you can't give me a glass cup. You know I can break those."

Talking to sissy: "Sissy, you can't touch that (The xbox), how many times am I gonna have to tell you this before you get it." And as she goes for it again, "Bentley, we juuuuussst weeennnt ooovvver this. Ah, not again...."

8 is GREAT!!!

Little Miss Princess Bentley Paige is 8 months old this week. I just can't believe how fast our lives have been speeding along since she came to us. She really keeps us moving :) Look what she can do... 1. Screech! Babble! Mumble! Shriek! She loves to explore her voice and gets pretty loud sometimes. 2.She can make the da and bu sound a lot but her favorite sounds are bubba bubba. McCoy is convinced she is saying Brother. Glade and I both agree Brother will be her first word! She adores him and every little thing he does. 3. She is cruisin'. Pulling herself up on the furniture and walking along the couches and chairs. 4.She puts herself to sleep! (big deal around here) She buries her face in her soft blankets when she is tired and then she strokes the blanket while she is falling asleep. 5. She loves to eat. We have yet to find something that she does not like or will not eat (again BIG deal around here since we already have a VERY picky eater). 6. She is really good at pretend coughing. I had a nasty cough for a couple of weeks so she started pretend coughing and every time she did we would pretend fuss over her so now she does it on purpose and then she smiles like she just pulled on over on us. 7. She wants to feed herself. We can't feed her without giving her her own utensil. She is so little miss independent. 8. She is the best baby ever. (OK so I may be a little partial) but everyday we feel truly blessed. She is a happy baby who is a bit of a mommies girl, is always so happy to see daddy and play with him, and she adores her big brother. We are such a lucky little family!

What do you do on the first cool day of fall....

...we go to the park! OK, I know most of you reading this are getting ready for or are all ready experiencing winter weather, but today here in the sunshine state we had our first cool/cold day of fall. It was 65 degrees mid morning so we hit the park. (During summer it is simply absurd to to play at the park because... well you will MELT!)

This was the first thing McCoy said after stepping out the back door to check the weather..."Boy it's really cold out there...I better find my beanie!" So we bundled up and ventured outside. Bentley giggled every time the breeze came by.

We hit Tiger Shark Cove park which McCoy calls Shark Park. My little social butterfly immediately made two new friends as is his usual protocol for anytime we are out and about so Bentley and I had a little fun on the swings. This was her first time swinging and she LOVED it! It was so fun to watch her giggle and get scared and excited at the same time. Had so much fun with my babies today. I have the best kids ever!

A little Fall Fun

We HEART Halloween and the whole month of October. Well for our family costumes McCoy said it was Star Wars or bust! He picked out our characters and we rolled with it. Glade is Han Solo, I am Princess Leia, Bentley is R2D2 and McCoy is a Storm Trooper. I have to add I wanted Bentley to have a pretty blue tutu to go with her costume but the McRocKsTar said NO. Apparently R2D2 is a boy. Also, my robe had a few small clear beads on the front. McCoy noticed it right away and pointed out that Princess Leia does not wear sparkles. He then said if I was going to wear sparkles that I should at LEAST carry a gun! On Halloween Night we had dinner with some good friends and then hit the pavement. Bentley boo was our little Punkin'. She lasted about ten minutes and then her and Daddy went back to the house to help hand out candy. McCoy was a Ninja and his little buddy Leah is Poison Ivy. They ran to each door and got so much candy. They wore us parents out.We did our trips to the pumpkin patch, we have been drinking our pumpkin spice eggnog everyday, and eating anything pumpkin we can get our hands on! We made candy apples the other weekend. Found out McCoy really likes caramels, but when he makes the caramel apples we slice them and then he still only eats the white part of the apple and leaves the skin and all the caramel. So I get caramel apple skins when hes through. Yummy good for me and good for his little teeth too! We had a fun fall play date with some good friends a couple of weeks ago. The kids frosted and decorated some Halloween Brownies and then decorated their own mini pumpkins. They also delved into some old Halloween costumes. McCoy and his Buddy Cohen stayed in costume the entire play date. They were some great green M&Ms. We always let the kids go for broke with the decorations, this is always what they come up with! A little cookie (or brownie or cupcake) and TONS of sprinkles!

Ok, so now what you are about to see is a little Halloween experiment....

When you have five minutes to come up with a costume for a party and you raid a little BOYS dress up box this is what you get....Guitar Hero Hero's! We may look nerdy but I'll have you know we were a big hit ;-)

And when you have five minutes and you raid a little Girls costume box this is what you get....Well, I'm not sure exactly what I was suppose to be. I let McCoy and Leah dress me and this is what they came up with. A Pink Witch? I was going to be butterfly but left my wings at home. Just thought it was funny how so different boys and girls dress up is LOL.

Missed trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Both kiddos woke up unusually early today but then they both fell back asleep for an early nap. So when Ten rolled around I had to literally pick them up out of bed and put them in their car seats so we could go meet some friends at the pumpkin patch. Well on the drive there McCoy wakes up and starts begging to turn around and go home because he doesn't feel well. So we scratched the trip. :( He is laying in bed now poor little fella. I feel so bad. I hate when my kids are sick. Bentley was sick at the beginning of the week and I think McCoy finally caught it. The pediatrician said it is just a 48 hour bug that is going around so hopefully he will be feeling better by Saturday.

On a side note: More wise words from McCoy... ... ...

McCoy: Mom I want an Ant farm
Me: Umm, well you will have to put that on your Christmas list.
McCoy: MOM, don't you know it SNOWS at the North Pole!
Me: Yea, so?
McCoy: Ants can't survive in the snow. I can't ask Santa for a Ant farm because there are no ants in the North Pole!

Pumpkin Patch Trip #1

We LOVE Pumpkin season! We love to visit the Pumpkin patch here. And although it doesn't compare to a real Pumpkin Patch like back in Idaho or even Grandpa's Pumpkins in his garden, we still love it and always have fun. Today we went for trip number one. We usually frequent the patch a few times to ensure we get that "perfect" pumpkin. Today we picked baby pumpkins to take over to a friends house and McCoy decorated pumpkins and cookies with his little friends. And of course I couldn't miss an opportunity to dress Bentley Paige up and take her picture :D

Good morning Spencer...

McCoy woke up this morning and ran into the bathroom to check on Spencer and I overheard him say, "Good Morning Spencer. Did you have some good sleeps? Did you have any good dreams? Guess what I dreamed about.. ... ..."

The Yarbell and other funny McCoy Stories

The YARBELL! McCoy's latest "invention."

In his words, "The yarbell is is for children and babies. To help your Children and babies sleep better because it is extra comfy and soft and is only made on a bed for super softness! That's what helps the children sleep better."

He grabbed every blanket and pillow he could find and piled them on my bed then laid my super soft blanket over the entire pillow mound and then gave me the above infomercial on his new invention the Yarbell. Kid is a salesman LOL.

This is Mac alseep in his Yarbell. Awe. It really works!

And here are just a few other funny stories I want to remember:

McCoy: Mom, who created God? Me: Nobody. God is the Creator. He created everything.
McCoy: So he created people? Me: Yes. God created Adam and then he made Eve so Adam wouldn't be lonely. McCoy: Who did God make to keep Eve company then? Me: Well she had Adam McCoy: But he is just one boring guy. She needs a friend too. I LOVE all my friends. Who will she play with? Me: (after I stopped laughing). Well, Adam was her friend too and she was his. And then they had babies and those babies had babies and so on and so on and then there was lots of people on the earth and they had lots of family and friends.
McCoy: So God just made two people! Adam and Eve made the most ya know!
(side note: this conversation as with the majority of our conversations, start off so random. Out of the blue he will just come out with these questions. He was sitting on the floor playing with his cars when he looked up and asked me this as I was walking by. I love it. I love that he is always thinking)

Glade and I were discussing some options for our winter travel plans and I threw out that maybe him and McCoy should go on a father son trip. I asked McCoy if he would want to go on a trip with just him and daddy. He looked at me, looked at Glade and sternly said, NO. I can't go anywhere without MY Bentley!

We were all in the bed the other morning catching a few more minutes of sleep when McCoy woke up rolled over and cozied up to Bentley and said, "Come her little sissy, I need my morning snuggles from my sissy."

And last but not least. McCoy got a new fish today because his other fish Girly who we had for almost a year, died. :'(

He picked out his new fish right away and wouldn't even look at another fish. He carried the container up to the counter and told the cashier. This little fella is my new friend pet. I will take good care of him forever!

In the car he called his dad to tell him and he said, "Dad, I got a new fish today. He is a blue Double Tail Male and he is Beautiful! Oh, and I named him Spencer."

He held the fish while we drove home and I could hear him saying, "Spencer you are gonna love our house. Its big and I have fun toys and a nice little glass fish house for you to live in. You will Love it. I will take such good care of you and love you forever!" When we got home I grabbed the fish so McCoy could unbuckle and the fish started swimming around like crazy. McCoy immediately snatched the fish back and said, "Oh mom, you scared him. Its OK little fella, I'm right here. See mom he likes me! When I talk to him he looks right at me."
I love watching him put forth so much care and love. He is so wonderful with his sister so I shouldn't have expected anything less for a fish. He is such a terrific big brother and I am so proud of him everyday. I love my babies so much and love all the time I get to spend with them.

What??? Where has the past seven months gone???

My days are disappearing like the sands of time. I can't spend enough time with my babies. I am so glad that we decided to keep McCoy home this year. Homeschooling has been going great. We have so much fun and he amazes me everyday and entertains me with his witty comments and crazy energy. He started Karate Last month and so far really enjoys it. I think it is a challange for him to stay so focused through the entire class but he loves it and is trying his best to do good. Poor boy has also been coughing like crazy lately in and out of the docs, they thought it was different colds, come to find out he has some pretty bad allergies. He is on the nebulizer now. Every four hours for the past week. He doesn't like it, but it is really helping him. We told him it was a Darth Vader Mask and that helped a bit ;) And as for the beautiful Princess Bentley, well well. There is so much to say. She amazes me too! She has so much drive and determination to move and keep up with her older brother. She is crawling like crazy, pulling herself up to standing position on everything she can reach for, climbing the stairs, squealing, laughing, screaming (whens she gets mad - boy does she get mad hee hee) and just being one active little girl. She loves to wear her pretties (bracelets and hair bows). She loves bath time and breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner time. Anytime she gets to eat is a good time :). Whatever we put in front of her is as good as gone. She actually had her first fry the other day. I gave it to her to hold and suck on figuring she would nibble and get a taste. Not 2 seconds after I gave it to her she had devoured it and was signing for "more". She can sign the words; eat, more and a form of water. We are working on milk and yes. I think baby singing is so helpful. I signed with McCoy and I believe it was a huge factor as to why he was such a calm baby. I also think it played a big part in his overall language skills. The kid skipped right over mamma dadda and started talking full sentences, he has a huge vocabulary and he also started reading at four. So Bentley Paige is following in brothers footsteps and learning her signs. She also waves Hi and she understand No (doesn't always comply little stinker, but she understands).

She loves her big brother like crazy. He can always make her smile. They have started to actually play together and I have to say it just melts my heart to hear them laughing and giggling at each other.

I know that I am so blessed to be able to stay home with my babies and I am just eating up our together time. I won't leave out the fact that yes, there are days and moments when it is trying and tough and I just want a minute of alone time, but I can't be sour for too long because I just keep thinking about how fast time fly's and how fast my babies are growing up. I am trying to take in every moment and enjoy all that I can.

A month full of Tricks and Treats!!!!

I LOoooooVVVVVeeee Halloween. Such a fun time of year but more importantly it kicks off the holiday season!!! All the good candies and treats start pouring into the stores and my favorite...Egg Nog will soon be in the Dairy section of your local grocery store! I can hardly wait. The Trick is to Treat yourself while watching the scale and hoping it doesn't go up. ;-) We will be busting out the Halloween Decor tomorrow and eating our candy corn and Fall MnMs. I am so excited but I thought I would start off with decorating the blog a bit. A splash of not so spooky to get me in the mood :).

Logical Logic

McCoy: Hey Mom, wanna play the Wii?
Me: Not now buddy I have a little headache.
McCoy: MoooOOM, don't you know Wii is exercise and exercising is good for your body and if its good for you it will make you feel good so you MUST play Wii to make your head feel better.

How can I argue with that logic? Needless to say he didn't let up till we played a round of golf and bowling. Love that never give up throw everything you got at' em attitude! Hope he carries it with him always. =D

Taking the plunge...literally

I am so happy and pleased to announced that I was baptized yesterday. To some this may seem like no big news. And to others it may seem like a real shock. To me it means so much. I have always had a personal relationship with God. When I pray I know he hears me and he always answers my prayers. He has never left me to feel alone. I have been praying long and hard these last few months for many answers, and true as always, Heavenly Father has been there yet again to answer my prayers and to guide me. My heart is humbled and grateful, empowered and calm. I know without doubt that the decisions I have made are inspired and blessed by my savior. I hope I can always remember who I am, and the reasons behind my choices. And I hope these choices will help me to be a good example to my babies and my husband.

Yesterday morning when i was getting ready, McCoy came in my room and gave me a huge hug and a kiss and said, "Mom, I am so E-X-cited for your baptism and I am so H-A-P-P-Y happy for YOU!" And when those little hands wrapped around my neck life could not have gotten any sweeter at the moment. Right here, right now, I am doing what I know is right.

I'm not just getting my feet wet any more, I have been dunked, taken the plunge, the warm water swim, and so on. =) And it feels good!

A conversation I don't want to forget...

More funny McCoy"isms"

While having lunch today McCoy asked me out of the blue, "Mom, do you miss Fafa?" (Fafa is my grandfather who passed away this year). I said yes and this lead to a discussion about heaven. We talked about what heaven looks like and how we get to heaven and how Jesus got to heaven. We got on to the terms ascend and descend and then McCoy came up with his own term: don'tscend. This is how he described don'tscend...

"Well, if I bad guy ascends up to heaven God is going to look at him and say, NO way, "don'tscend" that guy up here. Then down he goes.

I have to say I was cracking up! We further discussed the topic because I could see the terminology needed a bit more clarity, but man was that funny. I LOVE having him home with me. Homeschooling this year has been the best decision ever!

The sleepy acrobat

Bentley Paige is such a crazy sleeper. I went to check on her during her afternoon nap and this is how I found her...And Yes! That is her FOOT.
She must be comfy because she is still sound asleep. :)