Ten Things to Smile About: May

May is over!!!!! This is happy and sad. Sad because it went by too fast {like every other month}. Happy because it means we are officially in summer and our fun summer plans have begun!

1. Grandma teaming up and playing Wii with Petey.

2. Mother's Day. It was a great day to reflect on the great mother's that have influenced my life and also to have my family celebrate my motherhood.

3. Finding this swingset on Craigslist for $10!

4. Boss' birthday and him getting this awesome game that we now play almost daily. :)

5. Petey's birthday and giving her a manicure/pedicure while Aunt Andrea did her hair.

6. Taking my kids on a lunch date, thanks to a gift card.

7. Uncle Aaron's graduation.

8. Spidey trying to fit into this Barbie convertible.

9. Spidey deciding the non-toxic paint was almost as fun to eat as it was to paint with.

10. Petey's first swim lesson today. She was timid but did great until they made her lay backward and try to float in the water. Then, the tears started. But she claims it was still fun and that she would like to go back tomorrow. Yay! :)

And that's how Suze sees it.

Monday Madness

Today was such a great mixture of madness and fun.
We started off our day by Petey coming in to our bed at 4:30am. I was too tired to fight her so I told her to hop in and what did she do? She fell back asleep and we all slept in until 9am. Ahhhh.
I gave the kids breakfast and then it was bathtime. I decided a bubble bath was in store before the major fun planned ahead. The kids helped me pick up the playroom and so I let them play in there for a while. Cant you tell the kids had just taken a bath by looking at Petey's crazy hair? Ha!

Petey came out while I was cleaning and said, "Look, Mom, I drew an octopus." I was pleasantly surprised that it did indeed resemble an octopus. One circle and a whole bunch of lines coming off of it. Good job, girly!

I cleaned most of the morning and let the kids play (Boss was out golfing with the boys in his family). I vacuumed, swept, mopped, organized, folded 7 baskes of laundry, scrubbed the kitchen, and cleaned the kids' high chairs. Phew!

And then it was time for the real fun to begin.

I started by teaching Petey about the letter D. She can recognize the letters A, B, and C and some others in the alphabet so we decided to color a picture of a Dd (I didnt take any pictures of her doing this) and Spidey got to color a blank piece of paper as well. :)

Then, Boss grabbed some paint on his way home and we let the kids go to town painting their pictures. I let them make a mess and have fun {which is something that is usually hard for me to do}. As you can see, Spidey took advantage of that and decided to eat some of his paint and also to rub some in his hair. Oh well. It's non-toxic and washable.

Petey used mostly pink but threw in a couple of other colors as well. :)

My plan for these paintings is that they will hang up in our playroom. There is not much on the walls in their and I have a couple of pictures frames that I got from a garage sale and painted white recently. I think these cute paintings will be the perfect addition to those bare walls.

After our painting adventure, we went to my mom's house and went swimming. It was still a bit cold so Petey and I only lasted maybe 20 minutes. The only extra clothes I brought were these Sparky pajamas so she was warm and toasty the rest of the day. :)

I absolutely love my parent's backyard. My dad is so good at growing fruit and vegetables and they have so many trees back there. We picked some apples and peaches to take home with us.

My Mom decided to enlist Petey's help in carrying some of the apples by putting them in the hood of her jammies. :)

And then we came home and I folded some more laundry. I know this looks like a disaster to you but it is full of organized clothing. The 4 baskets shown are filled with folded clothes, ready to go into their drawers in the morning and the clothes on the chair are just needing to be hung up.

Today was such a great day, filled with so many fun family memories. I feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family.

And that's how Suze sees it.

Proud Mommy Moment

Today, I am excited to link up to Emmy Mommy with my Proud Mommy Moments.

PMM #1: Petey has been making me proud left and right lately. After starting her a new 'Good Choice Chart', she has been accident free for 5 days and has been making so many other good choices.

Just last night, Papa asked her to clean up a mess she had contributed to and without fail, she sat there and cleaned it up. {I think I'll be recruiting her help tomorrow with our disaster of a house}

I feel like 3 has been a huge jump for her. Yes, the tantrums still exist and she has started hitting me when she gets especially angry but majority of the time, she is such a happy, obedient little girl. It makes me beam with pride when I see her making good choices...especially without being asked most of the time.

PMM #2: The other day, Spidey ran up to Petey and said, "Ha pie!". Without any hesitation, she gave him a 'High Five'. It just about melted my heart. I had no idea what he was saying and I love that she understands him when I don't. My children have such a funny relationship. They fight like crazy but I know they will always be there for each other.

And that's how Suze sees it.

What You Missed

For a week, I have posted 4 times. Three of those were birthday posts and one was a simple, quick craft to tide you over until I had more blogging time.
Well, guess what? I have more time now!
So here is what you've missed this week...Spidey being upset because he had to sit in a toddler carseat for a quick car ride. He was so angry that I put him in the backseat, backwards, and laying down. Triple Whammy! :)

I captured a picture of K Bear and Spidey where K Bear looks like a GIANT...but seriously, I promise, he isnt. :)

Grandma cried with two baby boys that were whiny ALL day LONG!

Petey sassied it up for the camera before we went out for frozen yogurt. During our girl's weekend {wherein the boys in my family ALL went camping {{besides the two toddlers}}}, my mom sent us girls to go get frozen yogurt at Golden Spoon. The only picture I took was of my chocolate faced daughter but myself and 3 of my sisters were also present.

The Spidester learned where Grandma's rolling can shelf was...

...and proceeded to climb through it {more than once}.

Our THREE year old played hide and go seek with Grandpa and I was almost in tears from laughing {Yup, she unsnapped her onesie and pulled it out}.

Spidey learned to read...or so he thinks.

And K Bear really started loving me. He reaches for me, laughs at me, and talks to me now! Nine months away and one month here and he is starting to like me again! Too bad they leave again in 3 days for the summer. BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, that's what you've missed at Suze's Corner this week. I will try to be more faithful to you this week but my priorities have been set back in place---and that means as much family time as possible.

Ciao!

Family Rules

Lately, I have been wanting more subway art around the house. It doesnt get much easier than typing this all up and just printing it off at a local store. So when I'm not in too crafty a mood, I make subway art. :) And it turns out adorable and incredibly crafty.

If I am going to hang our family rules up in our main room, Ill have to change the colors. But I made this to match the kids' room.

Last week, we sat down with Petey and wrote down rules and consequences. She even got to pick most of the consequences. This has made it easier when she makes a bad choice. I will usually ask her what consequence was picked and she needs to follow that consequence. It isnt always that easy but she seems to understand it more each day.

If anyone needs help making cute subway art, email me. It's quite fun and easy peasy. :)

And that's how Suze crafts.

Happy Birthday, Boss!

It just so happens that Petey was born the day before Boss' birthday...so we get two celebrations in 2 days. I gave Boss one present each day, for the last 3 days. I'm not quite sure why I did it but I did.
The first day, I gave him 3 movies. (Mr and Mrs Smith, 21, and Quantom of Solace).
The second day, he got this shirt that I thought was funny. He didnt think it was as funny as me but he is willing to wear it still. haha. (It's supposed to look like he is dressed in a karate shirt)

My sister and her husband came over for games the night before his birthday and my mom sent her present with them. She got him Ticket to Ride! Which is exactly what he had been asking for.

So while it was still the night before his birthday, I had him open up the third gift from me that night. A chef basket! He saw this infomercial on tv a month or two ago and commented on how cool it looks. A week or two before his birthday, we got into a conversation about infomercials and he started talking about how most things on infomercials are dumb and even though they catch his attention, he would never waste money on that crap. GREAT!

But dont worry, he was happy and liked it when he saw it. :)

For Boss' birthday, we ate at Cassanova Bros Pizza and played games with my mom and sister.

Things I love about Boss:

• He isnt your typical sentimental, gushy husband. He's better.


• He is down to earth.


• He has a great sense of humor.


• He is a wonderful father.


• He listens when I ask him to change certain things and is always trying to make himself a better person.


• He loves his family so much.


• He cares so much about his brothers and is always thinking of ways to help them or hang out with them.


• He tries to be a better father every day.


• He started out being a dad with almost no patience...and now some days, he has more than I do!


• He worthily holds the Priesthood.


• He strives every day to be a righteous man.


• He is faithful to me, to our church, and to those around him.


• He is honest.


• If anyone we know requests help, he is ALWAYS there.


• He works hard and goes to school, all while being a father and husband.


• He loves that I stay home, even if it means we don't have almost any extra cash.


• He has great taste in women. :)

And that's how Suze sees it.

Petey's 3rd Birthday Interview

How old are you?

3.

What is your favorite movie?

Tangled.

What is your favorite color?

Purple.

Who is your best friend?

Max.

Anybody else?

Cinderella and Rapunzel.

What’s your favorite animal?

Cats.

What do you love most about Andersen?

I love…I don’t know.

What do you like about him?

I think, I like playing with him.

What do you love most about mommy?

I share with you.

What do you love most about daddy?

Sharing with him.

What is your favorite thing to do?

Go to my birthday and see Cinderella with Lily.

What is your favorite food?

My kitchen where I cook.

Happy third birthday, Miss Petey.

Love you so much, girly.

Birthday Girl

A trip through the life of our Petey. May 16th, 2008, Petey entered this world 4 weeks early. 5 pounds even, she was a tiny little thing.

She had chicken legs, reddish hair, and her Momma's crooked ears. (The headband covered those)

By the time she was 3 months old, her eyes had gone from dark blue to a clear, beautiful blue. They were stunning and we got compliments on them often.

At 7 months old, Petey celebrated her first Christmas with our family. She had the cutest, gummy smile.

By 9 months old, things were getting a lot happier in our home. Petey grew out of her colic (Yup, it took 9 months) and became a smiley, silly girl.

Petey celebrated her first birthday 2 years ago. She dug into her cake, mouth first.

At 16 months old, Petey became a big sister. It took her a while to get used to this loud baby but she got over her fear and loved him after a couple of weeks. :)

At 20 months old, Petey had her second eye surgery to correct a problem with her tear ducts. It was a harder recovery than the first one but she was strong and was fine in a couple of days.

Petey celebrated her 2nd birthday last year. She sure was cute in her birthday outfit and her hair was long enough for full pig tails.

We took family pictures in August of 2010 with my side of the family. The photographer captured a cute picture of Petey with her best friend/cousin, George,

For Halloween 2010, Petey was the cutest little punk rock princess.

Christmas 2010 was so fun. Petey was so excited for Santa to come. That was the first Christmas where she really understood most of it.

I took this picture of my girly March of 2011. She has so much sass {like her mother}.

This is Petey this morning on her birthday. I cant believe how big she is now. Three years, speaking sentences, recognizes most of her ABC's, sings SO many songs, is so acrobatic and full of rhythm. She loves all things princess, baby doll, barbie, and pretending to do everything that I do {cooking, cleaning, taking care of my babies, etc}. She loves her bunny, Astrid, so much and Astrid has actually opened up her world to more animals. She isnt as afraid of dogs and will usually stay on the ground playing, as long as they don't jump on her, etc.

Petey was so excited to get another princess Barbie from Mom and Dad today. That was the last of her 3 presents from us and we honestly forgot to give it to her until this afternoon. :)

Still to come: Interview with the Birthday Girl. I will hopefully get that posted tonight.

And that's how Suze sees it.