Dear Sydney,

You've been busy these last few months.  It's hard to believe that we're on the downhill slide to your second birthday.  When did my baby turn into a little girl?  And a feisty one, at that?!  The last time I wrote, you were just learning how to walk.  Of course, your brother was the one who finally convinced you that you were ready.  He was playing with a remote control train one day, and you just stood right up and took off after it.  (His toys have always been more fun...)  You still walk with the unsteady gait of someone who hasn't quite perfected walking, but you're deceivingly good at it.  You swing your left arm in an over-exaggerated manner for balance.  And the faster you walk the harder you swing your arm. 

I think on the day God was handing out personality, you got a double dose.  Your facial expressions absolutely crack me up.  You could drop someone dead in their tracks when you're mad.  But you nearly make me lose it when I'm trying to be stern with you and you flash one of your goofy fish-face looks at me. 

Your favorite toy right now is the toilet brush.  I don't know how many times I've taken that thing away from you and hoped upon hope that it didn't make it to your mouth when I wasn't looking.  You're starting to get into playing with baby dolls (Ah-by), but you can race trucks with the boys too. 

You appetite seems to have slowed down some, but you're still pretty adventurous with food.  A couple of weeks ago, you tried sushi.  You actually liked it, because you asked for another bite.  (Maaarrr.)  You're pretty insistent on trying anything I'm eating...except for milk.  I don't understand it.  You absolutely refuse milk.  We have given you whole milk, skim milk, soy milk, almond milk, chocolate milk, strawberry milk....and we have watched you spit it all right back out of your mouth.  You love yogurt and cheese, but milk will not pass your lips.  So we're giving you calcium fortified juice and hoping someday you change your mind. 

I talk a lot to others about how strong-willed and opinionated you are.  I hope I don't come off as sounding like I'm complaining.  While I'm sure we'll have our moments, I'm trying to remember that you are made exactly how God intended for you to be made.  Just a couple of nights ago, Daddy and I were talking about your stubbornness determination, and I pointed out that I don't think we'll ever have to worry about you caving to peer pressure.  I'm serious.  We actually had a good little laugh because we were feeling a bit sorry for the kid who tries to talk you into something that you don't want to do.  I feel like if we can just lay the groundwork and convince you of right and wrong, our work will be pretty much done. 

My sweet Syd, I love how you already have an opinion about which shoes you should wear.  (The sparkly ones, of course.)  I love how you want me to pick you "bup".  I love watching you beat a path to the bathtub as soon as you hear the water start running.  (We are going to have so much fun in the pool this year.)  I love watching you play with your hair when your eyes are getting heavy. 

I wouldn't change a thing about you...not a single red hair.
Mommy

Snow Much Fun!

It seems odd to be posting snow pictures on a week that we've had 70 degree weather.  I guess that's how I do things these days!  A couple of weeks ago, we got a chance to play in a REAL snowfall.  Both of the kids (and the dog) were so excited. 

 

Sydney refused to walk in the snow.  She liked standing in it, but if she needed to move, she put her arms up and screamed at me until I picked her up and moved her.  This girl....I love the faces she makes.

 

 

Sam, of course, wanted to go down the slide.  That only happened once, though.  I think there was some ice collected at the bottom of the slide, and he didn't appreciate that too much.

 

He did, however, manage to find a very long icicle.  And it immediately became a sword.  I don't care what you say, boys are just different from girls.

 

 

 

 

This is the only time I could actually get them both to stand still long enough for a picture.  I wonder if my neighbors stand in their yards listening to me try to corral them for pictures and enjoy a good laugh.

 

 

Sydney didn't appreciate riding in the jeep.  I think she was mad because she couldn't drive.  Or maybe she was fearing for her life.  Either is a valid guess.

Warm Weather Memories

Seriously, it's cold outside.  We have had snow ice on the ground for a few days now.  Sam can't understand why we can't go play in it.  It's white, right?  I want to have joy in everything, but I would be A WHOLE LOT more joyful if spring would just get here, already.

 

I was looking through some old pictures on my phone and came across these that I took back in the fall.  We had a stretch of really pretty days, and the kids and I enjoyed a lot of time outside playing.

 

Sydney's hair is so much longer than this now.  It's kind of at that weird stage where it still has the crazy baby-hair texture but it's so long that it needs to be put up.  I have debated taking her for a little trim to give it some shape.  When I mentioned the idea to Shawn, he just laughed.  Yeah...he's probably right.  I don't think it would go over very well, either.  Maybe we'll just continue to deal with the crazy baby-hair. 

 

I will freely admit that I play on the playset with the kids.  Another confession---I don't really mind so much if they're playing in the play area at Chik-Fil-A and one of the kids gets stuck and I have to go "help" them out.  Being a mom is a tough job.  But I'm up to the challenge.

 

 

It's funny to me to see Sam's imagination starting to develop.  He loves driving his cars and trucks.  I'm not much of an artist, but we were able to fix a little racetrack outside. 

 

He is also fascinated with the drain that sits between our neighbors' yard and ours.  I frequently find him squatting down, just staring into it.  My dad has suggested that we just go ahead and have the fire department on speed dial because he will eventually get stuck in there.  He's probably right.

Shawn downloaded this app called PicJointer.  It was just a couple of dollars, and I have had a lot of fun creating these little collages.  I'm not a very good photographer, but these little things make even my pictures look good.

 

I've been somewhat absent from the blog lately.  There are several reasons.  Mostly, I just can't seem to put a coherent thought together right now.  I'm pretty sure it's apparent in my conversations, too.  My friends at work joke about how I jump from one topic to another mid-conversation.  Oddly enough, the girls I work with are pretty good at "jumping with me" as they call it.  (Sometimes there is a bit of an uncomfortable pause in the conversation while they catch up, but they usually do and then have a good laugh about it.)  I thought it might get better after a few months, but this might just be my new normal for now.  So I'm going to try to do better about posting more frequent, albeit random and scattered posts, because there is just too much cool stuff going on around here for me to not be recording it.

 

I read somewhere that this stage in a parent's life can be a blur.  I think there is some truth to that.  I love being home more, but there are A LOT of days when Shawn gets home and I can't really tell him what I did that day.  The day is a total blur.  A good blur, but still pretty fuzzy in my brain.  Luckily, he always manages to ground me and remind me that we have two little people in this house who require constant care.  One day that bathroom will get painted.  One day those pictures will get hung.  Someday, I might even get that room redecorated.  But today, I fed everybody, gave them a bath, handed out hugs and kissed away tears.  My cup runneth over.