My Big Little Girl

There is so much to say about my big, little girl, Petey. In her 4 1/2 years of life, this little girl has been the perfect 'first child'. She is so helpful and seems to always be there when I need an extra hand. She is also sweet and doesn't like it when people are sad.
For example, lately whenever I ask her to do something, she replies with, "Yes, ma'am."
I keep wondering who taught her to talk like that!

Obviously, she has her moments. I'm not trying to say that my little girl is perfect but I am beyond grateful for her sweet moments.

Speaking of her growing up, a couple of weeks ago she wanted to ride her bike to the park but I had Spidey and he can't ride a bike yet so I thought of a different plan.

Yes, that's my girl, riding her bike by herself home from the park. She was nervous at first and cried for a bit when I told her we'd be driving but I assured her she would be fine.
Spidey loved watching her from the car and cheering her on. {On a side note, isn't it freaking awesome that the middle windows on my new van roll down?}

Also, this morning, I had just finished making my breakfast when the little baby I watch decided he needed to eat. I was trying to hurry up and finish when Petey came up to me and said, "Mom, don't worry about it. I'll feed him for you." And she did. {Have I mentioned how much I hope we have more babies? Her helpfulness is making me want one even more!}

As a last little bragging note, Petey has been learning to sound out words recently. I am having a hard time believing one of my babies is old enough for such a thing but she is doing it so well. We work a little on it each day and I love seeing the lightbulb go off in her head when she realizes the word she's trying to sound out. It makes me such a proud mom to see her learning and doing new things.

Have I mentioned how much I love that little girl? Well, I do. She is one of a kind.

And that's how Suze brags.

Proud Mommy Moments: She's learning so much!

This week was the perfect week to link up with Emmy for my Proud Mommy Moment.

My sweet Petey is just the biggest girl these days! I sometimes have a hard time believing she's doing things that I remember learning at her same age. Can she really be that old?

The truth is, yes she can! She celebrates her half birthday tomorrow. I remember being 4 1/2. Such fun times.

Anyway, my girly is learning a lot and her personality, when she's happy, just lights up my day. Enjoy these videos from yesterday and today. She is quite the little turkey.



When she gets the sillies, she makes everyone around her laugh.
This week, she learned how to start the swing all by herself.
She has learned how to do the monkey bars halfway across.
She learned how to do a semi-cartwheel. This one has taken a while and she's been trying to get that correct motion down. I'm so proud that she finally got it!
And she also learned how to do handstands! Some of them are pretty high and she's getting really good at getting her legs up there.
I am absolutely, positively a proud mommy. I love that my girl is learning things that I used to spend hours outside doing. I love that she is still a carefree child. I know how NOT carefree life gets when you are older and it's fun to see my children enjoying the lives they are living right now. And that's how Suze sees it.

Proud Mommy Moments: Funny Phrases

Today I am linking up with Emmy Mom to post my Proud Mommy Moments.

I've been feeling lately like my kids are always saying something funny and I keep forgetting to write it all down! I used to be so good about doing that and I haven't done it in so long.

 Petey, age 4:
Me: "Spidey, please go pick up your toys."
Spidey: "I cant..."
Petey: "You have fingers and hands. Go pick up your toys!"

"How does a duck fly? They just wing it!" (She got this from WordWorld but it's more hilarious when she says it because she giggles the whole time and thinks it is the most hilarious thing.)

Talking to her little friend, "I'm 4 now because I have had 2 birthdays." (Hopefully math isn't a problem later in life...)
Me: "You're my little snuggle bunny."
Petey: "Mom, you're my big snuggle cow."
Thanks???

"Mom, 'Spidey' has dots like me! That means he is a big boy now!" She was referring to the freckles on his face (You can see them in the picture below). When she turned 4, she literally had 4 freckles on her arm and she was convinced she would get one with each birthday. Since then, she has gotten many more so that didn't really come true but it is still a cute thought. Now she thinks anyone with "dots" is a big kid. :)

Yesterday, I asked, "Do you want to go get pokes right now and get a treat or wait and maybe not get any pokes?"
Petey: "I want the pokes now because I want ice cream."
Me: "You would choose getting your blood drawn if it means getting ice cream after."
Petey: "Yes. I just like ice cream!"
And that is literally what happened. We were maybe going to wait on blood work but since she wanted it, we decided to go ahead just to be safe and make sure she has no issues. She hardly even cried and as soon as I reminded her about pink ice cream with pink sprinkles, she startd laughing during the blood draw. She is such a silly girl.

Spidey, age 2.5:

One of his favorite phrases is, "I cant...", said in a very solemn voice.

Other favorite phrases:

"Howee cwap!"

"Mom, listen to me!"

"Stop doing dat!"

As you can see from the last two phrases, Spidey is very bossy.

I wish I could think of more funny things that Spidey says because he literally makes us laugh all the time! For some reason, my mind is blank but I'll try to be better about writing down the funny things that are said in our home.

Thanks for letting me participate, Emmy!

And that's how Suze sees it. 

Proud Mommy Moments: Swimming Lessons

Since I missed my Monday Brags this week, I decided to link up with one of my blogger friends, Emmy Mom for her Proud Mommy Moments.

This week, Petey started swim lessons again.
Do you remember last year? The first week, she cried every lesson and hated getting in the water with her teachers.
So we've been talking about it the past couple of months and she has been beyond excited. But I still wasn't sure how she would do once we got there.
On a side note, in the pool at my parents' house, she can almost swim by herself. Well technically, she can swim by herself but she doesn't remember to breathe when she comes up so we still have work to do. :)
Anyway, Tuesday was the first swim lesson of the summer (she's doing lessons all summer long).

Of course, I had to sneak in a picture of what her brother does while she swims. He colors, or reads, or cheers for her while she swims.

This was the very first day of lessons. As you can see, a little nervousness ensued and Petey wasn't quite ready to get in the water.

But those nerves turned into giggles when she got comfortable with her teachers and soon, she was peeking her head up to grin at me.

It did make me laugh when one of her instructors (who clearly was doing this for the first time) said, "Ok, do you want to get in the water and do back floats with me?" And Petey calmly replied, "No, thanks." and he just walked away, not knowing what to do. ha! I'm sure he'll learn from the other instructor who then went over and said, "Ok, time to do your back floats!" and just put Petey in the water. Our girl didn't even complain. I think she just figured if they were giving her a choice, she was deciding not to float on her back. :)

This last picture is from yesterday. She did SO well! Not only did she willingly lay on her back and practice kicking across the water but she kept telling the instructors, "I can swim by myself! Let go and let me swim to the side." and they did, and she did swim to the side by herself, and they were impressed.

I'm so proud to have such a big, brave girl! I was regretting my decision to sign her up for swim lessons every darn week of the summer because it's hot and some days, I know I just won't want to leave my air conditioned home but after seeing how much she loves her lessons and how much she's learning, it is worth it. :)

And that's how Suze brags about her super awesome children.

Proud Mommy Moment: Potty Training, Round 2

Remember when I swore I would not potty train my son until he had hit 3 years old?
Remember how I even tried it for a day two months ago and I gave up because want it or not, he was not ready?
Well, ladies and gents, he is ready now! And I'm in disbelief at how well he is doing.
For the past couple of months, my son has been using the potty once in a while just randomly to pee. Since he was so comfortable with the potty, this experience has been SO different from Petey's. The first day of her potty training, we had to teach her it wasn't scary to use the potty and how to feel when her body needed to go. But my little man already knows all of that!So two days ago, around 3 or 4pm, I bought that little boy some Thomas the Train underwear, told him to keep them dry, and we set off. He ended up having one accident that night before bed but used the potty three times!

Then came yesterday. It seemed like his sticker chart blew up with stickers! He went 14 times and had 3 accidents. Might I mention that his sister also had 3 accidents yesterday? "sigh"

The day we decided potty training was a GO, I researched tips online and the main thing I wanted to do differently was not to tell him when to go use the bathroom. When we potty trained Petey, we asked her to go about every half hour and I don't think she ever really learned how to listen to her body. So even though I was expecting MANY accidents from him, I decided to let him decide when he needed to go potty. And he ended up with less accidents than I expected!!!

Another thing I changed was not giving out candy for using the potty. Petey stopped using the potty as soon as we stopped giving her candy; hence the sticker chart with Spidey. :) Heck, I'll keep giving him stickers til he's 12 if that's what he wants but we are not giving out candy.

I am proud of my little man and the things he's accomplished. I am praying that the magic of potty training does not wear off with him like it did with Petey because I know it'll be tough if he's having as many accidents s she did that first YEAR. Here's to hoping!

And here's to proud mommy moments with Emmy, whom I'm linking up with today! :)

Dancin the Night Away

Growing up with the love of dance and participating in many dance-type activities, I was excited to share that love when we found out we'd be welcoming a baby girl into our home. I told myself that I wouldn't force her into anything and I still stand by that......but from the looks of this sassy little personality, I don't think forcing would even be needed!
Whether this girl grows up and chooses to dance, she sure seems to have some dancing bones in her body. This is the pose she gave me over and over today...and I wasn't even requesting it. I'm not sure where she's seen this since she isn't taking dance this semester but it sure is cute. :)
I took a video of my girly yesterday and just asked her to dance however she wanted. There is no music and no promptings from me in the background. This is just my girl dancing to the beat inside her own little head. :)


Can you really deny that she was born with thos dancing bones? :)

And that's how Suze sees it.

Today, I am linking up withh Emmy Mom and her Proud Mommy Moments. :)

Proud Mommy Moment: My Special Spidey

Who knew carousels were this fun?Doesn't it just make you want to squeeze him? He is such a happy little boy!
Today, I am proud of my little buddy. The feeling is mostly general since I'm proud of both of my kids a thousand times a day. But I'd like to talk about how proud I am that I have a son.
As our first son and the first grandson on his dad's side, my special boy will have a lot of special opportunities in his life. I remember finding out that he was a boy and being kind of sad (which will NEVER happen again) because I wanted Petey to have a sister close in age to her. Plus, I was afraid of having a boy.
You see, I have about a million sisters (well, really just 4 of them) and didn't know much about raising a boy so I was kind of scared.
And boy, he is! My boy is beyond boy. Really! He likes trucks, balls, and dirt! And more than anything, his favorite thing is to wrestle.
And instead of run and hide or make him stop being so crazy, I have been trying to embrace his boyishness. :) Because remember, he is a boy.
I am proud of my son. Proud of his two year old self and proud of who he will become in this life. He is such a great blessing in my life.

And that's how Suze sees it.

Proud Mommy Moment: He's the Master of Messes

Today, I am linking up to Emmy Mom with her Proud Mommy Moments. I have dont this one in a while and wanted to get in on the action.

It's no secret that my son is adorable but what you didn't know is that he has master mess-making skills.
Serious skills indeed.
It doesn't matter what we are eating, HE WILL MAKE A MESS.

Or let's say he drinks a cup of chocolate milk...his face will look like this.

His favorite thing to do is dump his drink or soup (or any type of liquid, really) onto his tray and slurp it up. Weird.

Yes, that pile of mush is chicken noode soup.

And it makes my boy SO happy. "sigh"

This boy likes to keep me on my toes ALL DAY LONG. I am constantly cleaning behind him as he goes and if I don't, the house becomes disaster...which seems to happen often.

Oh how I love my sweet Spidey boy...but really, I could do without all the messes.

And that's how Suze sees it.

Proud Mommy Moment

New Mommy/Surrogate Mommy Edition:Have I told you how much I love this beautiful pregnant lady? This is her 2nd picture on the blog this week. She must be special to me, right? :)

I have decidd to focus today's Proud Mommy Moments on two mommy's I'm proud of, instead of talking about my children (Is that allowed, Emmy?).

Leyla has been on bedrest, off bedrest, in the hospital, out of the hospital, in for emergency dr's visits, etc this past month with her soon to be born daughter (Remember THIS post about Mia's adorable room?). She also has a handsome son who is weeks older than my oldest. Mia has decided that she would like to come into this world in her own special way, declaring that she's coming but then deciding today's not the day. I can already tell she will be such a special little girl.

And why am I proud of her momma?
Let's see...to start the bragging about my friend...She is always positive and learning new ways to be a better mom. She is a very positive influence in my life. She is intelligent and she has great style. This must be why we get along. She is one of my closest friends and it's been years since I've really felt like I had someone I could call on a pin drop and they'd be there for me. She's now one of those people in my life.

And then there's the other special surrogate mother in my life this week. Boss' 14 yr old cousin, Ry, wanted to spend a week with us {she lives 15 min away} and help out with the kids. And she has done just that! I've found her reading to the kids,

helping them swim,

and keeping them entertained while I cook dinner.

Among that, she also swept, vacuumed, and mopped my floors AFTER picking up all the clutter in my family room. She watched the kids while I did dishes AND keeps asking me if she can help me fold laundry (Umm, yes! We'll get to that soon, Ry. haha). I am so grateful for these young girls that hope to someday be mothers. Ry is a mother in training and my kids get to be her guinea pigs. :)

And that's how Suze sees it.

Proud Mommy Moment

I love linking up to Emmy with my Proud Mommy Moment {on the weeks that I remember to}.
This week is focused on a special little girl in our family {Oops, wasnt my PMM about her last week too? I promise, Ill throw in some with our Spidester soon too!}.
Petey started swim lessons this week. This is our first time doing them and so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
Petey in her first five minutes of her very first swim lesson. She is the 2nd kid in on the right.

She didnt cry for the first part of the lesson and seemed to be doing fine...until they started doing this in the above picture. She wanted NOTHING to do with laying back into the water and trying to float. Can you see how she's fighting him to be in an upright position? At one point, she actually grabbed his lanyard and ripped it off his neck. I thought she'd broken it until I saw him clasp it back on after she was done.

Her 2nd day, I was hoping it wouldn't get any worse. She said she wanted to go back so I thought we were over her initial fear but as soon as she saw the pool and the teachers, she freaked out and started crying...and didnt stop for the entire 35 minute session.

At the end of that session, I was given advice to stay positive and not talk about the fact that she had cried. So the entire way home, I praised her for the things I had seen her do (jumping into the water, doing "monkey crawls" along the side of the pool, etc).
And then today happened...

Petey and her friend, excited and ready for their lessons.

Still happy as can be, waiting to get in the pool.

STILL happy while IN the pool. :) Petey cried for maybe 2 minutes today, when they started the lessons. In the middle of her crying, she looked over at me and I smiled and clapped for her. She perked up and put a smile on her face and stopped crying after that. She was jumping in the water, kicking her legs and blowing bubbles with her class. She didnt go under the water when they played "Ring Around the Rosie" but that's ok. It's only her 3rd day, you know. :)

I am one very proud mommy of my very brave girl.

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.

Proud Mommy Moment

{After putting the button my blog, formatting everything, and typing up this post, I read through Emmy Mommy's blog a little further to find out that this link up isnt starting til next week. Oh well! I'm getting some practice in a week early!}

{Sarcastic} Proud Mommy Moment:

We were having an ice cream cone at McDonald's this week with cousin, George, and Petey points to a woman and asks, "Mom, is that a guy?" The woman gave her a half smile/half frown and abruptly walked away. My face was stained red for a good 30 minutes.

{Real} Proud Mommy Moment: On Easter, I asked Petey why we celebrated Easter. Her reply went something similiar to this: "To remember Jesus Christ because he died for us and cried for us." Spot on, baby girl! I love it when the things I teach her really stick in her memory.


{Sarcastic} Proud Mommy Moment:
Petey had an accident at Grandma's house and for the 598,764th time, I forgot to pack her extra clothes so she ended up wearing Spidey's 12 month onesie. At least I can be thankful that she is really small and fits into his clothes.

Proud Aunt Moment {Does that count?} K Bear is home!!!!!!!!!!!! Only for a month until they head off to Minnesota for the summer but I actually got to hold my sweet little nephew last night for the first time in 9 months! He was pretty skinny when they left for China and he now weighs more than my almost 3 yr old!!!! He is the cutest little chunker boy!

And that's how Suze sees it.