Help!!!

This week Ansley got to go see Charlotte's Web with her class. When I arrived to pick her up from school they were in the process of completing their newspaper articles about the play. All the kids were drawing Charlotte the spider and the rest of the farm animals. Ansley was drawing a family of people. Ansley literally spends Sunday nap time drawing in the kitchen. Occasionally, she will come and check on me taking a nap in our bedroom (which is on the main floor) and Bob taking a nap on the couch. She usually starts off laying in bed with me singing me a song then gets bored and tells me she is going to draw!!
Ansley loves to write in small notepads. Lately, she has been so proud of herself because she is learning how to write lowercase letters. She will come to me with her notepad and point out her lowercase e or n. She is starting to spell words when I tell her the letters.

James has gotten over his nasty cold. However, he has taken on a new challenge of breaking free from toddler proofed areas. Now that he is in a big boy bed I have had to add knobs to the door that will keep him in his room.When he first started sleeping in his bed he did not know how to open doors. Well give him a couple weeks not only can he open doors but he can open toddler proofed doors!! In any other house this might be a small concern however, our bedroom is on the main level and the kids are upstairs. Therefore, he has to walk down a tall flight of stairs. Not cool. At 5:30 this morning when I came upstairs from working out I heard him talking through his monitor. At 6:00 the talking sounded rather clear and I could hear him walking down the stairs and jumping down the last two. He came walking into my bathroom smiling and chatting away. I asked him how this happened. He said "Door open, Door close." Already a smart mouthed one. I guess this weekend we will be getting a baby gate to go on his room. Nothing like giving him a better challenge.
I have been trying to upload pictures but I am having a bit of a problem. It is probably user error (possible the glass of wine) but stay tuned for pictures.

Update!!

Yes it has been a while since I have posted. Thank you Caroline for reminding me. Let's see where to begin. Well I am going to be an Aunt again... Caroline and Rusty are having a little girl named Hannah in January!!!!!
James will be 22 months this week. He is still sleeping well in his big bed. We had two 5 am wake up calls from him. When I say wake up calls I mean he was standing in our room talking to us. Ansley never even thought of  leaving her room much less her bed. James has a different view on that philosophy! At 5 am I would hear little feet coming down the stairs and a full blown conversation from him. It was too cute that I couldn't be made. This had to be stopped as cute as it was. He now has a knob on his door he can't open and some toys in his room. This morning I heard him climbing out of his bed to and comment "oh" followed by his own language. Translated this meant "oh yeah cars." He played for a good while until it was an acceptable hour to get up!!
James (22 months)
1. Can count to 10
2. Recognizes yellow and green
3. Animal sounds: cow, pig, duck, dog, cat, and lion
4. Favorite TV shows: Little bill, Jungle junction, Mickey, Diego, Dora, lion king
5. Favorite book: Numbers book and Picture book
6. He weighs about 30 pounds, 3T shirt, 2T pants
7. Activities: Riding in his car, running, coloring with Ansley, swinging, and taking a shower.
8. Favorite saying: anything sister says!!

Ansley 4
1. Learning how to write lower case letters: mastered e, a, f
2. Enjoys riding the "white school bus"
3. Favorite activities: playdates with Frances, baby dolls, coloring in the lines, writing in her notebook, running, riding her bike.
4. Favorite book: I can read books (toy store, Dora)
5. Favorite TV shows: Olivia, Little Bill, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
6. Favorite Movie: Lion King
7. She is a daddy's girl: At night I hear her up with Bob telling him all about her day and more!!!
8. Ansley's favorite saying: "What's going on here?"

Mischief

Sunday was a lazy day! James has been trying to recover from a battle with a nasty cold. So far the cold is winning!! After James took a 3 hour nap, he was refreshed and ready to play. Ansley and James love playing in the playroom together. So while Bob and I were relaxing and watching the Falcons beat the Saints, we were under the impression the kids were in the playroom enjoying their toys. Yes, they were in the playroom and their toys were around them. However, they were enjoying a high of Baby Vicks vapor rub. Let me rewind... I had rubbed a little of this on James before he took his nap then threw the bottle out of the room to get on the way downstairs. Well of course I forgot it and guess who found it for me!! Ansley called down to us to tell us there was poop on the floor. I immediately jump up and see the cat and dog down with us and only imagine the worst! When I reach the top of the stairs I get stopped by this aroma of a dirty diaper and vicks!! Yes, James diaper did not hold the blow up. Thank you honey for cleaning that up. With that said I look to see James with hand fulls of Vicks. They were both covered in Vicks. This leads to a 4:00 shower! Never a dull moment in our house. And I wouldn't trade it for anything!!! Below are the pictures.

Playdate with Frances

The girls have been wanting a "playdate" for the longest time. They get this playdate idea from Sid the Science Kid. Below is a cute picture of how much they love each other.

Big News!!

James has taken it into his hands to grow up too fast.  This week he dismissed his crib and has been sleeping in the queen bed in his room. So if anyone needs a toddler bed we have a brand new one. He can't handle not being like his big sister. When it is time to separate and go to their rooms, James darts into her room and jumps into her bed. He lays completely still almost like he is trying to blend in with the quilt. Try keeping a straight face with him doing that!!
On Sunday James peed on his froggy potty!!!!!! Yet again Ansley announced, as she ran across the room, that she was heading to the bathroom. James was extremely insistent that he needed to go to. She allowed him to come in and get his potty. He pulled it into the hallway and got daddy to take his diaper off. Bob and I continued to ignore our kids and watch TV (hehe). James informed us several times by running to us and telling us he was going potty. We would ask him if he was done and he would run back saying no. The third time he came to us he announced he went potty. Bob asked him if he was ready to get his diaper back on. He replied yes and said potty! We laughed and went on with our business. As Bob was putting on his diaper his leg was wet. We both jumped up and ran to the froggy! Yep, he peed in the potty. We jumped up and down and headed for the candy cabinet! He was so excited. What a big boy!!
Ansley is still excited about Prek and is enjoying getting ready for Kindergarten. She is starting to ask me to spell things for her so she can write them. She is fun to color with. Lines now mean something to her so she works really hard on coloring within the lines!! Not sure why I get so excited about this but I do. We started Wednesday night FEAST at church this week. The entire time we were there she was shy and wanted to go home. The moment we leave a new child appears. She was all kinds of pumped about the fun she had a choir and in her classroom. When Bob got home she filled him in with all the details! She was so excited and was ready to go back. It was a great night out with just her! 

Hero for a day!

What did I learn this week? I learned that I am lucky to have two beautiful and healthy children. I took the kids on Monday to the pediatricians to get a flu shot. Luckily, my mom was there to help with the tears afterward. On Thursday I picked up Frances, Thomas, and Ansley from school and headed home. I saw that CVS was offering flu shots. There was no wait so all four of us went in. I explained to them what was going to happen. They were so concerned that I was going to cry and it would just be the worst pain. This coming from two 4 year olds and a 2 year old. It was so cute how concerned they were. When it was shot time I thought all three were going to cry. I wish I had a picture of their jaws dropping when the needle was put into my arm.  I did however get the biggest applause when it was over. The entire way home I got to hear how great of a job I did and that I didn't even cry. I am pretty sure I was the hero for a good hour!!!
Last night James slept in the queen bed in his room. Ansley and he might as well be sharing a room and a bed. She falls asleep in his bed and then we move her only to find her in his bed the next morning. However, since he slept in the big bed she slept in her room last night. Then at 6 am I get out of the shower to hear little feet running round, doors slamming, and tons of giggling. It was too funny!!! It won't be funny Saturday at 6am! Luckily James decided to sleep in his crib tonight.

Catch up time

These past two weeks have flown by. I guess because we have been so busy. Labor day weekend was the start of College football. This means that our house is full of stats and replays. Ansley and Bob went to the first Georgia Tech home game. Ansley wasn't so much into the game as she was into the massive amount of sugar that was there. She pretty much ate her way through the game. James isn't quite ready to sit through a game yet so we stayed home and enjoyed some time together. On Sunday Kelley and I took the kids to the John's Creek Arts and Crafts Festival. The kids got to ride a train and jump around!!!
James has found a way each day to remind me that he is all boy. This week he found out that he has a toy with him at all times. I know I shouldn't laugh but it never fails every night he gets into the bath tub he waters down his sister. Who thinks this is just so funny. I think it is rather gross! I have found him twice laughing hysterically while he is peeing all over my floor and walls while trying to grab the pee.

Ansley has been rocking PreK. They have been going on field trips every Friday. Which include the Happy Lab which is on campus or off campus field trips such as the nature center or the Center of puppetry arts.  She is growing up so fast!!
A few things about Ansley:
1) Favorite toy: 6 fairies from Disney store
2) Favorite Color: Purple
3) Favorite activity: Dress up with brother
4) Learned: how to color in the lines!

Today James learned how to "count" and this is how it goes...."1,2,3,10." Then sister chimes in and reminds him that is not the way to count. Of course brother is not going to stop without a fight! So he begins again.
A few things about James:
1) Favorite Toy: Cordless phone from the local thrift store.
2) Favorite Word: "No" (of course with hands crossed and turning his back)
3) Favorite Activity: Getting out his car seat when we get home and jumping into the front seat before mommy can get to him.
4) Learned: Uses 3 word sentences: "I want more", "I sit down", "Good boy Oscar"