Imaginations - Coconuts in space

Symeon and Marin's imaginations are exploding right now.  We have so much fun pretending we are going on trips and right now their favorite place is Pa Paw's house in CT so we head their several times a day to visit.  Marin also calls Pa Paw on the "phone" all the time to tell him something that just happened.  Tonight she called him to tell him about a bug she saw in the basement. 

Several days ago we spent the morning in their room because it was a spaceship and we were blasting into outer space and landing in CT.  We talked about stuff out the window in space, we took a nap on the ship, and we ate lunch in space it was grand.  We saw lots of things out the window in space but the best things were the coconuts which is the word of the week for Symeon.  He seems to latch onto a word often an unusual one and use it multiple times in a day sometimes a bit out of context, sometimes as  a filler word, and most of the time accurate although odd.  I find it to be rather funny and I look forward to the new word of the week each time it changes. 

Imagination - please God help  me to nurture it in them it is a gift!

Playing ghost

 Marin is trying to explain something to Shawn and he is just not getting it!

Our kids have taken to putting blankets on their heads and walking around like ghosts.  They love it and it is so funny to watch especially when they bump into things of course we stop them before they get hurt but small bumps into objects is funny!  Here they have their Daddy and our housemate Michael helping them and even getting in on the action.  It was such a fun evening together playing!

Really great sweaters

Symeon loves to say cheese for pictures and well Marin is just Marin with all her spirit

Two great kids and two great smiles

This was a Sunday morning on our way to church and Symeon is wearing a sweater that was Shawn's when he was a kid and Marin is wearing a sweater our neighbor brought her back from Canada.  They were both just so cute I had to do a quick photo shoot. 

Ok they are quiet what is going on????

I know some people who do not check on their kids when they are being quiet but I am not one of those people and with good reason.  Both our children have "gotten into things" or "situations" since they were small and now since they can communicate with one another, boost one another up, and encourage one another to try stuff quiet in our house often means something is brewing.  For example several weeks ago we were eating dinner the kids were done and came to play in the family room and we stayed upstairs finishing our dinner.  After a little while both Shawn and I had to the feeling we had better check and when Shawn came down they had pulled out everyone of our board games emptied them on the floor and were "playing" them.  I was less than thrilled and we spend the next 45 minutes trying to sort out which dice and cards went with what game.  There were pieces and cards everywhere and they were both delighted with themselves.  So fast forward a few weeks and you would think I would have learned my lesson.

I was blow drying my hair, Shawn was in his office right off the kitchen, Michael (our housemate) was in the shower, and Denise (our housemate) was on an errand.  I saw Symeon and Marin go upstairs like they were on a mission and they told me they had to get something.  I figured it was fine since there were 3 adults upstairs.  When I finished about 5 minutes later I went up to find this scene...

Yes together they had moved the stool and Symeon had climbed up on the counter to reach the bag of Hershey kisses and he was unwrapping them as fast as he could giving one to himself and one to Marin.  As you can see they were doing this the entire time I was blow drying my hair and the other adults in the house were going about their routines.  I was glad Symeon was sharing and of course I had to take some pictures and then I scolded.

The thing that has me worried is not what they did but rather that it seemed premeditated since my housemate said she found the stool in that same place the day before.  Hmmm so had their plan be interrupted the day before and they waited until the next day when the time was right and they acted.  It does make me wonder what else they might be planning that I am clueless about.  So as you can see when it is quiet it is best to go and check on these two partners in crime.

Babes photo shoot

I was fooling around with my new camera lens and Marin was more than willing to pose.  Here are some of my favorite shots capturing a bit of her essence. These pictures were taken during the two week period where she liked to have her hair done that stage has now passed and she once again lets it all go wild!

 Seriously look at that face she is just so cute!

 She crosses her arms randomly and it is so funny

 Oh the infamous hands on her hips pose once again a riot.  This is a pose we have been seeing more of these days and not always with this cute smile on her face.  

 When she gets really excited she puts her hands over her mouth and laughs it is so precious.

 This is one part of Itsy Bitsy Spider, going up the water spout.  

My birthday

I just realized I never posted about my birthday back in January.  I had a great day with the family and received lots of well wishes I am truly blessed to have so many people in my life who care about me.  We went out to dinner downtown to a restaurant that has train inside so we were able to sit in the train to eat which we all loved.  The kids loved taking the light rail and bus downtown.  After dinner we came home to have ice cream cake and the kids sang me Happy Birthday Marin on the drums and Symeon on the guitar.  I was blessed to get a zoom lense for my camera which was on my wish list.  I felt pampered, special, loved, and blessed beyond measure so I would say it was a great birthday!

 Preparing to sing the big song

 Maybe we look a little similar except those are his Daddy's eyes, beautiful!

 That's my baby girl!  She might look a little like her Mama as well.

 Spending my birthday with the people I love most in the world, ah a great day

We were enjoying the video of them singing Happy Birthday!  It was a great way to end my day!

Poop in the potty poop goes in the potty

Ok so potty training continues in our house and we have conquered poop in the potty (which is a song on a toddler CD we have I am not as bad as an 8 year old boy using the word poop and then laughing.)  Symeon pretty much poops in the potty all the time with an occasional accident here and there but pee pee in the potty is another story.  He always wants to use the potty when we are out and about but now I realize it is more out of curiosity than anything else and everyday during quiet time he has to pee in the potty and there is no possible way he could pee in his diaper although he peed in it all day long.  I have figured out that once a day on the potty is fine with him but constantly through the day well let's be real he has a very busy life and stopping to use the potty could jeopardize his social status.  So we continue to trudge along and honestly it is not that big of a deal to me since number 2 is conquered I can handle number 1 coming later.  Here are some cute pictures of underwear day at our house as you can see Babes is wearing her undies as well although it is over her diaper which saves us lots of accidents. 

Ooops

Oh the love that flows so freely from them...

Symeon and Marin astound me with their love for each other and me.  Marin gives the best hugs all the time wrapping her sweet little arms around your neck and squeezing it is such a blessing and a lift on a hard day.  Symeon has been saying some of the funniest and sweetest things the past week.  The other day we were reading this book and he asked me why the author wrote it and I told him she loved the dogs so much she wanted to write about them.  I told him I should write a book about him since I loved him so much and he said he would like to write a book about Babes McGee and I said because you love her so much and he said yes.  Tuesday we had a rough few moments and honestly I called on the name of Jesus for help and Symeon looked up at me and said why did you say Jesus and I said because I need his help right now and he said oh but he is helping someone else right now.  I just started laughing which was exactly what I needed.  Tonight I had to run some errands and since it was -2 I decided to leave the kid with Shawn.  When I returned home Symeon looked up at me and said I only cried for a few minutes and I asked why he was crying and he told me because he missed me so much and I told him I missed him too.  Finally tonight when I put Symeon to bed he asked to sleep in my bed and I told him no Daddy and I sleep together but he decided he could sleep on Daddy's side and I asked where Shawn would sleep and he told me on an air mattress he does not miss a beat and he always has an answer when you ask him a question and they are usually pretty creative.

They remind me on a regular basis what it means to enjoy life, love freely, and forgive easily and often and God knows these are all reminders I need.