Gettin' a Little Crafty

So I've been trying to be a better mommy while the girls and I have days that we are home all morning. One thing I have been so reluctant to do with them is crafts. I hate crafts. They're messy. They're time consuming (the setup and cleanup parts). And, I am so not creative. I'm not a crafty momma. Anyway, I've decided to try to die to my own selfish wants/needs/desires/_____ fill in the blank. Yesterday we tried painting. Yeah, I hated it. But we painted for 30 minutes, that's a long craft, right? One child was really into it and the other was hungry. I'll let you decide who was who by the pics! I promise to continue doing crafts, but I don't promise to enjoy it. 😄

Just for you Aunt Su Su

Aunt Susie, this video is for you!  She was sitting on my lap and I told her who we were going to see on Saturday.  When I said we would see Aunt Su Su, Sarah replied, "Su Su, cute!"  I tried to get her to say it again on video but couldn't.  Either way, she gives you a kiss and then shows you her little Minnie.  :)  Love you Aunt Susie!

Bentonville

We live in such a neat little community. Everything is so new and cutting edge around here, it's wonderful! Remember when I talked about the splash pad we went to this summer? Well, in the winter it becomes an ice skating rink! Awesome! Every Saturday night they also show a movie on a giant blow up screen. We met the Kirby's there this evening and enjoyed a great night! We drank hot chocolate, watched the skaters, watched the movie and even got candy necklaces, remember those?! We love Bentonville!

18 Months!

I skipped the 15 month post but here is the 18 month update! Sweet little Liney is not actually little!  I have thought, all this time, that she was on the smaller side.  Turns out, she is in the 95th percentile for height and 50th for weight.  My little girl isn't so little!  :(  Here are some facts and stats on my favorite 1 year old!

-34 inches tall, 24 pounds

-Has so many words!  Way more than SJ at this age.  I assume that's normal!

-Throws fits with the best of them!  When she is about to throw one, she slowly lays down on the floor then turns on the screaming and water works.  It's quite funny but also needs to soon have consequences.  

-She is content to play alone but loves to be anywhere SJ is.  She adores her big sister!

-I think she really likes being the center of attention.  She will dance and sing on command and is so proud to entertain.

-Quite the monkey!  She loves to climb.  The doctor said she is her own biggest threat.  

-Sleeps about 12 hours at night and takes about a 2 hour nap.

-Her best friend is her little sock monkey that she sleeps with.  Thanks to Sarah Crawford for that first birthday gift.  It's so random that it became her "lovie" but she sure won't go far without it!

-Seems to love mommy and daddy equally, no favorite yet. 

-Still sucks her index and middle finger to soothe herself.  I know I should stop her but I want her to stay my baby and it's sweet, ha!  Probably not a good enough excuse!

-Always knows when a babysitter arrives, must be that toddler intuition.

-Her nickname from SJ is "Liney Cat".  I love it!

 I had just asked her to give me her fingers...see that little smile underneath?! 

 Here she's saying "cheeeese!"

  

Nashville

Daniel always plans an almost week-long hunting trip to Kansas the week after Thanksgiving. This year our friends, The Lutzs have moved to Nashville. So instead of staying home all week by myself with the girls I decided to jump in the car and go visit Leslie. I was so nervous about a 550 mile road trip alone with the girls but they did AWESOME! We stopped two times on the way there. Did you catch that? We only stopped TWICE! Like I said, they were awesome! Our second stop was at Bass Pro in Memphis. I thought it would be nice to run around in there for a few minutes. They loved it. We also had their pic taken with Santa. They did not love that. I still can't stop laughing.

We arrived in Nashville around 7:45 that evening and my girls and Leslie's kids jumped right into playing with each other without missing a beat. Such a sweet sight to see!  Leslie is also so good at jumping right into projects with the kids.  I'm so lousy at crafts so it was nice to see her do them and how laid back she was.  I aspire to be more like that!  Thanks, Leslie!

Painting Christmas trees!

Painting herself...

The three girls helping Leslie with breakfast.

Thursday was lounge around the house day. We also ate lunch at a yummy Mexican place near Leslie's house. Speaking of house, their new house is gorgeous. Absolutely stunning! Friday we met Gigi, Leslie's mom, at the zoo and enjoyed a beautiful weather day and seeing the animals. Fred made us a wonderful steak dinner that night then Leslie and I met up with her sister in downtown Nashville for a drink, some live music and a little dancing. So fun!

Caroline sitting on Sarah's lap checking out the elephants.  

Stylish Emma got to switch car seats with SJ and ride along with Auntie Kari!

Caroline viewing the elephants.

Sweet SJ and the elephants.  She LOVED seeing the animals!

Feeding the birds.

Downtown Nashville with Lauren and Leslie!

As much as I hated to hit the road, I decided that early Saturday would be the best time to head out. We had to miss Emma's birthday party, bummer! The drive home was not nearly as smooth as the drive there but that's okay. We made it to Alma, AR for dinner. I just couldn't drive any longer and needed to stop. Apparently, SJ needed to stop and take care of business too. While we were waiting for our meal she sneaked to the other side of the table, told me poo poo and proceeded to pull her pants down (thankfully she did not "go" right there!). I did not realize what she had done until the waitress rushed over and told me she had her pants down. Sure enough, when I walked around the table, there was a full moon for all to see. Oh. My. So humiliating! Yet, so funny! We got home around 8 and the girls were beyond giddy to be out of the car. I was too!  Thank you Lutzs for a great time! Can't wait to come back!

Carrie Underwood Concert

Betsy and I finally got to go see our home state hero, Carrie Underwood.  Okay, hero may be a strong term, but we are pretty darn proud that she is from Oklahoma!  We ordered our tickets way back in May and had to wait SIX months for this concert.  Our seats were amazing and she put on a fabulous show!  Thanks, Betsy, for a great night!