another set of firsts!

we've had another big couple of day's at the woodard house! sarah has been in the big pool the past 5 days and is really enjoying it! she loves to play on the steps BY HERSELF--she is miss independent walking around on them. we have been trying to get her to blow bubbles in the water to get her used to her face being in the water. but, she just puts her face in the water and takes a big sip! she then says, "yummy" every time! its too funny. when she's in the mood, she'll kick her feet when we hold her on her tummy in the water. today, i got her a life vest so she would be a little safer around the pool. she really has no fear--which of course causes great fear in her mommy! so, we are really excited about how well sarah is doing "swimming" this summer!

sunday night, drew was sitting in daddy's lap having a big conversation about boy stuff, and he laughed for the first time! it was priceless. and tim kept making the same noise over and over so drew laughed over and over! tim and i were laughing so hard we were crying. this past week he also started reaching for the toys hanging down from his activity mat and grasping a rattle placed in his hand. he was so excited about moving his arm and his rattle moving too!

and our little peanut rolled over for the first time today! he was playing on his tummy, holding his head up really high so he could watch what sarah was doing in front of him, and he sort of accidently rolled onto his back! i was actually trying to get a picture of the kids facing one another laying on their tummies, so i almost missed the big event! of course we wanted him to show daddy the big accomplishment, so we "made" drew roll over several more times tonight to prove his new skills! daddy was very proud!

all in all, things stay pretty exciting around here! ok, ok, i know that these kind of things aren't earth shattering in the grand scheme of things, but to two parents who couldn't be prouder, they are the greatest accomplishments in the world!

sarah's first crush!

it appears my daughter has developed her first crush :) she loves to talk about mr. josh. she says, "josh" a million times a day. josh is maribeth's husband/carter's and miller's dad. when we got to carter's house the other day, i asked her where we were, and she replied, "josh's". and all day long she says, "josh at work"--a phrase previously reserved for her daddy alone. apparently, her first time to say "josh" was last week when mr. josh was helping daddy take off the pool cover. she said, "hey josh" several times while they were all outside. of course, the mommies were inside tending to the little boys and missed the new trick! sarah likes to "list" her friends, family, animals, etc. so, she'll be sitting in her carseat and say, "mimi, poppy, nana, pop pop, mommy, daddy, drew..." now she'll say, "josh, beth (apparently maribeth), car car, mil mil". i guess she's learning about relationships and who goes together. but, i just thought it was too cute that she has fixated on saying "josh". so, although i know little sarah is too young to truly have a crush...we have joked about it with josh and maribeth because we think its so funny! just a cute story for the day!!!

what a week!

oh my goodness! where to begin! my husband tim has been out of town on business all week. that alone causes our household to turn into a zoo! on top of that, drew decided that he needed to wake up 2 times every night to "check things out as the man of the house". we went over to play with maribeth, carter, and miller wednesday morning, and sarah and carter were terrors again. (hello? are we ever going to learn?) the last hour we were there, sarah wanted me to hold her the whole time. no big deal, except that i also had a 3 month old to tend to! we hurriedly headed home earlier than normal to end the madness. sarah continued to be a little cranky the rest of wednesday, but isn't that typical of 20 month old girls sometimes?

so i was really surprised when i got sarah out of her crib on thursday morning, and she and her crib were covered in chunky throw-up! yucky! poor thing had gotten sick in the middle of the night without me even knowing it! wow! i'm really going to win the mother of the year award this year! so, i threw her in the bathtub and all her blankets, bears, etc. in the washing machine. i call my husband to tell him what all is going on at our house and he responds, "this is the worst day of my life!"

now, i am the drama queen of the family. tim has NEVER said anything that dramatic in the 15 years i have known him. he then tells me that his father was admitted to the hospital wed night and is having surgery thurs morning for a small bowel obstruction and hernia repair. very unexpected. tim had hoped to come home from his business trip thursday afternoon anyway, as he had made really good progress at the site. but, now with his father having surgery, he was definitely going to get home thurs to be with him. so, tim leaves buffalo, ny at 1:00pm central time to arrive in memphis at 6:00pm central time. he planned to go straight to the hospital from the airport.

around 4:00pm, i started feeling really bad. my stomach was hurting, but i didn't think much of it. i have eaten at really weird times this week, and i've felt my blood sugar plummet a few times. so, tim starts calling at 5:00pm saying that his flight is delayed due to weather. he is on the runway in the plane, but they aren't letting any southbound planes take off. i put sarah down for the night at 7:00pm, and i am really starting to feel horrible. thankfully, drew went down for a nap about 8:00pm. then the bug really hit me. i was on the toilet or puking for almost 4 hours straight. miracle of all miracles, drew slept the whole time. tim FINALLY made it home at midnight. he had been sitting on the runway or at the gate, still on the plane, for over 4 hours! before it finally took off for the 2 hour flight. how miserable! when he got home, my stomach was finally settling down some. i went straight to bed, and he took care of drew until 5:00am. then, we all slept for a few hours til sarah woke up.

needless to say, we have had a very eventful 48 hours. tim's dad is doing well. the surgery was a success, and he's recovering nicely. tim and sarah are there visiting now. drew is sleeping, and i am laying on the couch recovering myself. thankfully, tim is off today through tuesday. maybe we can all get back on a normal schedule now!

every time tim goes out of town, i am reminded of what a FANTASTIC father he is! he is so good to the kids, and especially me. if he didn't help out so much, his travels wouldn't be such a big deal. but, he is THE BEST!!! we were all very happy to see him arrive home safely!

sorry for the long, very detailed post. its so therapeutic to get trials out in writing!!!

where has the time gone?

its been 10 years already! i can't believe i graduated from high school that long ago. don't you remember thinking 10 years seemed ages away when you donned your cap and gown? the anniversary has been on my mind a lot lately as tim and i are getting ready to attend the germantown high and houston high reunions this summer. both schools are revving up their publicity about the events and attempting to contact "long lost" grads. its been neat to read what old friends and acquaintances have been doing over the past 10 years. i know tim and i have changed so much! its hard to believe that the "stud" that i started dating the summer before our senior year of high school is now a daddy of 2! wow! i think its safe to say that all my friends knew that i'd be doing exactly what i'm doing--staying at home with kids! that's been a no-brainer since i was in elementary school!

i still feel a lot of school pride for good ole ghs. i could hit a golf ball from my front yard to the football field! one of my favorite things about fall is the weather getting cool enough to sit outside and hear the band practicing after school!

recently one of my favorite teachers from high school, ms. hardin, passed away suddenly. i was able to attend her funeral service. it was amazing to see how many students' lives she had touched through teaching latin and sponsoring the junior classical league. i was one of those students who thrived in her strict environment. she expected a lot out of her students and she made us meet her expectations. somehow, she convinced a bunch of high schoolers that latin was a vital subject. latin is one of only 2 classes that i feel like prepared me for college!!! i think about ms. hardin's influence on my life every time i see a latin expression or use latin root words to figure out a medical term at work. i didn't realize how much she meant to me until long after i had left her classroom.

well, those are my musings on high school and our reunions. as usual, i tend to ramble and get off track. sorry for the serious stuff.

school's out for summer!!!

its officially summertime! tim opened the pool this weekend! my spirits lift so quickly when i can see the sparkling water out my kitchen and living room windows! i can't wait for the water to warm up so sarah can try it out! last summer the big pool was a little overwhelming...so she mostly stuck with the kiddie pool! this year i'm hoping she becomes really comfortable playing with mommy and daddy in the real pool. poor little drew will have to stay inside this summer as he's too little for sunscreen or the memphis heat! but, it finally seems like summer has arrived! happy swimming everyone!!!

diet coke and nonic

another funny story. we spend a lot of time going through drive-thru's. just a side effect of having 2 small kids. its easier to eat while driving somewhere. ok, so its not healthy. well, at least i'm remembering to eat. back to the point...now every time we go through a drive thru, or more often, pull up at sonic, sarah says, "diet coke". she DOES NOT drink diet coke herself, but her mommy drinks way too much diet coke. so, sarah asks for diet coke at drive thrus. she was even in the car with nana and pop-pop going to a drive thru atm and asked for diet coke. they thought they had heard her wrong. but, she repeated it over and over. what a mess!!! now, she follows up, "diet coke" with "ice" since i've started getting her a cup of ice to keep her entertained in the car. (by the way, ice is a perfect treat for the car since it just turns to water.) and the other day i couldn't understand what she was saying...she kept saying, "nonic, nonic". thankfully, my interpreter, maribeth was present. she realized sarah was saying her version of "sonic". now its official. my name is kelly and i am a sonic diet coke-aholic!!!

ummmm...heather

nothing like a 20 month old helping you realize your worst habits!!! so, sarah likes to talk about her friends at preschool. she can only remember a couple on her own. mommy supplies the rest of the list. when i'm trying to remember the names myself, i apparently fill in with, "ummm". so, now sarah says, "ummm, heather, ummm, jojo, ummm, evan..." you get the point. its too funny. and for the record, she doesn't have a classmate named jojo, that's just what she calls joseph.

a point of clarification

i don't think i mentioned that my friend from high school with whom i reconnected was named maribeth. she's carter's and miller's mom. i wrote about her in my last post, and realized i hadn't said her name before. she's the one who taught sarah "stinky bootie". thanks a lot :)

a few firsts!

yesterday was a big day around our house! drew found his tongue! we got some adorable pictures of him trying to stick it out and bite it! he is such a big boy! and this week, big sister sarah learned to do puzzles by herself! and she learned that a rooster says, "cock a doodle doo"! well, its more like, "cock do doooooooooooooo"! but, its still precious! she already knows what a cow, horse, duck, dog, cat, pig, lion, elephant, bird, and train say! she can identify those animals in pictures, too! she's also getting really consistent in saying, "please" and "thank you". of course the thing that she says most is, "nope"! how long does that stage last?!? she'll tell me when she's pooping, but then answers, "nope" when i ask her if she just pooped! also, we have one step up to our entryway. she has to go up and down that landing to get into her room. she is consistently stepping down without holding on to anything. and every once in a while, she'll step up independently! we are really having to watch what we say around her, too! last monday, maribeth said that carter had a "stinky bootie" and sarah repeated that for at least 5 minutes! she's such a ham! we are thoroughly entertained by her on a daily basis! and little brother is "talking" up a storm! he will coo and babble for 10 minutes straight right after eating. he still talks the most to mommy, but he's starting to talk to big sis and daddy, too! its amazing to see how much he smiles and reacts to sarah already! i can't wait until he gets a little older to continue to see how their friendship develops! i think that they are going to truly enjoy being so close in age! well, that's enough bragging on my little ones for now! just trying to get these special developments in writing!

a little background info

i am a 28 year old wife and mother. i live in germantown, tennessee (right outside memphis) with my wonderful husband, tim, my delightful 20 month old, sarah, and my handsome 3 month old, drew. we have 2 dogs, maggie and molly. needless to say, i feel like we are running a zoo sometimes! every day i think, "where is the time going?" i've heard all my life that time passes by faster as you age! man--no kidding! i worked as an occupational therapist full time before having kids, and continue to fill in as needed now! i attended saint louis university in st. louis, missouri. my family attends germantown baptist church. we currently stay busy just being a family. like i said before, my plan is to record all the fun things that happen in our family before i forget them! i already feel like i've forgotten so much! so, stick around for the ride :)

momma said there'd be days like this!

wow! just got back from a playdate with a 21 month old and 1 month old! whew! i missed the memo that said that 20/21 month olds CANNOT play well together! much hitting and fighting! one of my best friends from high school and i reconnected when we were both pregnant 2 summers ago. we ended up both having girls, 5 weeks apart. then, we both ended up pregnant again at the same time! we both had boys, 7 weeks apart. isn't that crazy?!? NONE of the pregnancies were planned, but lots of fun now!!! so, our kids are like family. we have more pictures of the girls together than we do of the girls with their own families! sarah's best friend is named carter, and drew's soon-to-be best friend is miller (guess they need to realize each other exist before we can call them friends !) so, the sweetest thing happened (despite all the hulabaloo of the playdate)...when we were leaving, carter called out to sarah, "i love you!" it was the first time she had ever said that! so, i guess they do love each other after all!!!

here we go!

well, i am thinking that i need to write down all the funny and sweet things that my two kids are doing. i have a 20 month old and a 3 month old. things are crazy...so, i figure this is going to be a place to quickly journal what is happening. i have all the best intentions of scrapbooking my children's lives, but until that happens, this is as good as it gets!!! hope its at least a little bit enjoyable!