I'll NEVER!

My darling neighbor did a fun post I thought I'd steal (or swipe as it's now said in my house thanks to Dora.)

We've all said it....I'll NEVER (fill in the blank)! Only to find ourselves doing the exact thing years (sometimes days!) later. I don't like to have guilt over the "giving in" as it may appear, but rather kick myself in the rear for being so ignorant as to make such a comment.

Here are some of mine:

"I'll NEVER let my child sleep in our bed...or even in our room for that matter!!"
Lincoln slept in our room for the first 3 months of life and Noah slept in our bed for the first 2 months.

"I'll NEVER move back home to Arkansas!!" (said after I left for Cali for college)
Moved back 5 years later to finish up my Master's where I then said:

"I'll NEVER stay in Arkansas after I graduate w/ my Masters!!"
A few months before graduation, I married my husband...who was a basketball coach in Arkansas.

"I will NEVER wear a skirt that comes to my knees!"
Right.

"I will NEVERquit running every day for the rest of my life!"

"I will NEVER wear skinny jeans!"

Okay. I still don't do this b/c I'm still convinced they look AWFUL on me.

Stolen from Mrs. Amanda...but true for me as well, "I will NEVER drive a minivan!"

I still don't but I wish I did b/c they're ultra convenient and conducive to little kids...the cool SUV's just are NOT.

I'm sure there's a million more, but here's my latest one to kick of 2011:

I will NEVER say "I'll never."!

Here's to being open. :)

I Know it Should Be About Christmas....But

Glancing at the ole blog roll, I notice posts dedicated to all things Christmas, and well, I took a gazillion pictures throughout our fun Christmas festivities that tell the story, so if you're interested, here's the run-down:

Had Christmas in Crossett with Jason's family the few days leading up to Christmas Eve (told in pictures here)

Drove home Christmas Eve and woke up in our cozy home to have Christmas morning with just our family of four, 2 dogs, and the traditional monkey bread; then headed to my parents house (who live relatively close) to celebrate the birth of Jesus with them - accompanied by more food, more presents, and of course, more fun. That story can be shared in pictures here.

Don't get me wrong - it was SO much fun, but there were a lot of things that went on and writing a blog post about it all in detail will probably be boring to you, and it wears me out just thinking about writing it.

All my decorations came down yesterday and the house returned to normal, so I'm now officially moving on from Christmas.

There. Done and done.

NOW - I wanted to mention something about BABY SLEEP.

As I've blogged about before, we moved Lincoln to a big boy bed about 3 months ago. He's had his ups and downs...the extent of the downs being that if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, he must run into our room and jump into bed versus putting himself back to sleep.

On Christmas Eve, we decided to put him to sleep in the crib so that he wouldn't catch Santa. :)

Him and Noah had to be woken up at 9:30am the next morning.

The next night, we were exhausted and needed sleep, so we did it again.

Him and Noah both slept until 9:30am...again.

Repeat the same routine the third night, and go the same results.

Lincoln pretty much sealed his fate that night.

Also enter a random email from Baby Center about toddlers sleep that said a toddler should not be moved out of their crib until 3 years old because that is the age they can fully comprehend staying in their bed.

Further sealed Lincoln's fate.

Then this morning, they BOTH slept until 10:30!

So, I have the comfort of knowing that if need be (like, say at grandma's house over christmas where he did wonderful sleeping in a big bed!), he can do it, but for now - Lincoln's back in his crib and the house doesn't stir until 9:30am. It's been NICE.

Now the big question is whether or not all this good sleeping is attributed to being in the crib or sheer exhaustion from Christmas....?

I'll keep ya posted.

Christmas Week!!!!!!

Oh my Goodness!!!! It's the start of CHRISTMAS WEEK!!!!!!!!!
(Insert CHEESY GRIN and giddy excitement.)

Last week we took the kids for the first Santa visit (yes - Lincoln has not gone the past 2 years). We went right before his duty was up (close to 8:00pm) because, well, that's how we roll during b-ball season.

We thought we'd be the only ones there...no lines.

We were wrong.

But in a humorous way...

Jason's assistant coach and his family were there, too!!! So we ended up joining in the festivities together and had such a fun night spending impromptu time with them.

This is Lincoln interrupting our friend's time with Santa.

**Take notice of Lincoln's hand on Santa's knee to get his attention**

But then Lincoln got his turn! They both didn't mind Santa at all...I don't know if I should be worried by this or not. :)

We jump-started the night last night with Christmas movies and popcorn! All day yesterday Lincoln kept requesting "Rudolph" and "Frosty the snowman" so we did a LOT of singing! It's so cute hearing him start to sing.

Jason and I think Lincoln would prefer Frosty bring him gifts instead of Santa.

Happy Christmas week to you!!!!

Some Favorites

Just thought I'd list some things I'm loving these days...

This one's obvious: Lincoln's ability to contribute to the family's financial stability with his personal banking skills. No brainer.

Next we have this lovely NEW item from the makers of everyone's favorite Butt Paste - it's a butt protetant to PREVENT the nasty little rashes before they happen! What a grand idea! I picked me up some of this stuff, and so far, it's been great! It's best uses come when the little one has lots of poopies (from being sick, teething, or starting new foods). I recommend it. :)

Then there's dum-dums. They had to make the list because, let's face it - they've been a life saver at times when Lincoln gets bored (per say, at the DMV) or at basketball games that can be long. The great thing about these in particular is they are small enough to finished, and are in light colors so they don't make such a mess. And the great thing about all suckers is they are LONG LASTING. Love them.

Now this is a "mommy item". When it come to powder, I'm a Mac gal. When it comes to eye shadow, I'm all about Smashbox (though they discontinued my favorite). Lip gloss? Bare Minerals, Smashbox, Lancome...some of the front-runners (not so picky on this one). But when it comes to blush? NARS ALL THE WAY. Tried it about 6 years ago and have never bought another brand since.

*****the picture got deleted and I don't feel like uploading it again. Sorry.***********

Then there's Northface. Oh I LOVE Northface. This little number was bought by Jason back before we had kids and spent a lot of money on each other at Christmas. This year, our Christmas present to each other is a date night on Monday (which I'm super excited about). But you can bet I'll probably be wearing his present from years past because I wear it ALL THE TIME. It's super warm and I don't need a jacket. Plus, it has tons of pockets that zip which means I can basically secure all things baby and money when I'm out. Perfect.

And Christmas...how fun is this season??! What's super exciting is seeing Lincoln talking about"Santa, Frosty-the-snow-man, Baby Jesus, and Rudolph!" throughout the day as he sees images pertaining to such. And of course this super cool santa at pinnacle that looks SO real is awesome!

Another favorite in kid land is movie time. With the weather cold outside, the family has started having movie time at night every now and then where we watch Christmas movies. Lincoln LOVES it. He gets popcorn (which is on his top 10 list) but it's not pictured here cause he had already eaten it. :) The movie also must be viewed with his pillow pet, a blanket, and his hands crossed behind his head - always.

And of course the season means daddy is starting to be home more!!! Noah's loving it.
Okay - another mommy favorite. This Ole Henriksen moisturizer. Oh My. It's heavenly. I usually don't sped much on facial stuff, but I've notice the mad dash of sudden wrinkles to my face and thought I should take better care of the good ole skin. This stuff is miracles in a jar and is highly recommended by yours truly. The whole line is amazing but I don't have the budget for that. If you do - you can't go wrong.

Ha. And my energy source. I'm not a coffee drinker, but man I LOVE these.

Frozen vegetables. Yup. They made the list. I haven't found a kind my kids (either of them) don't love. They're great cause it's super fast and I can make them as mushy as needed for Noah, then eat them over the next few days.

And the sit and stand....it is not mine but my dear neighbor Amanda let me borrow it for this season in life. I love it. It saves so much time because Lincoln can come and go on it as he pleases and doesn't need to be strapped/un-strapped a thousand times. It really is a great invention if you have 2 kids close in age.

And Christmas lights! I've never appreciated them like I have this year because Lincoln LOVES them! We've strolled through neighborhood many nights on our way home the past few weeks just because it's so fun to see his eyes of wonder. He still can't say his "L's" so this is what we hear CONSTANTLY: "Mama!! Daddy!!! BIGHTS!!!!!!!!!"

**this is not our house, BTW** :)
And of course, my birthday/Christmas present.
Feel free to add to the list!!!!!

"Harry & Cookies!!!"

Today... I met some new friends on my Halleck Coach street, and engaged in my first ever cookie-exchange party: I felt super domestic, let me tell ya.
I brought the ever-so creative chocolate-chip cookies (I know).
And between those, the Cowboy cookies, the PB balls, the chocolate-chip mint, puppy chow, chocolate-covered pretzels, etc. (yes, there was MORE)...I feel slightly like a butterball turkey ready to be rolled onto the treadmill. :)
Thank goodness I like to run.
And that I love meeting new friends because - let's face it - calories don't count when you're with friends, right?
(Right!!!! you all yell in unison).

Thankful to live on the same street as all you super fun gals and look forward to more parties!

I didn't get any pictures because I knew Ashley & Amanda would have that part covered (and one less thing for me to carry!). So I'll be stealing photos of our festive morning to share later. :)

But I did start playing with my camera more this afternoon while Lincoln was asleep. I was trying the self-timer option...trying to get Noah in, focus right, all that fun stuff.
As you can see, I didn't quite succeed at either.
This one actually focused right...but too bad it's a ridiculous picture of me
Oh - and as for the title? That's what Lincoln kept exclaiming all morning when he woke up. :)

Profile Change

I feel like i just updated my profile...seriously, it had to be 10-15 minutes ago, but as I happened to just glance over it and read it, I realized everything (except Jesus - thank you for NEVER changing!) is different!
Let's see...I'm now 29...oh great joy;
My boy is now 2-years-old;
We only have 2 dogs (remember for a second, shed a tear, then move on telling self he's happier than before!);
And my tiny little infant is about to have his FIRST birthday.
**sigh**

Where Did He Learn That??

When he is playing with something, he randomly sometimes will furrow his brow into an insanely ugly look and go "MI------NE!!!!"
Jason and I never retract and object to our chest, furrow our brows (into an unbelievable shape, mind you) and yell this statement in an ugly, low tone...?

Where did he learn that???


Or how about when he wants to "dance! dance!" he can magically fetch the remote and actually turn it to a music station???!

Where did he learn that???

Then - on the same TV lines - Jason and I will be flipping through our DVR to see what we haven't watched yet, only to find "The Wonder Pets", "Olivia", and "Caillou" all recorded on a season pass?? And the VERY WEIRD thing is that 2/3 are on different channels, but ALL are cartoons???

Where did he learn that????

Oh our deep thinker, crazy extrovert, and little sponge... we may never know.

Editting Boredom

I know the editting is pretty over-the-top, but I've been bored (jason's gone) and this is crazy how you can totally change a picture!
So here's to reality (super embarrassing cause this picture was taken on 2 hours sleep the night Amy went into labor):

And here's to editting and boredom:
(I always wanted blue eyes - hehe).

Sorry about the first picture...I know it's a little frightening.

Tucker Alan Hill

Sweet baby Tucker was born yesterday a little after 11:00am.
So thankful for God's little blessing and super excited to see all the plans God has in store for this little guy.
My sister did not have an easy road yesterday but did AMAZING. She is one to be admired. :)

Before Jason and I went to bed Tuesday, we randomly talked about a "plan" in case Amy went into labor that night - good timing! We went to bed around 1:30-2:00am, then the phone rings at 3:30am!
I think I was already putting my shoes on before I said "hello" I jumped up so fast, knowing what was on the other end of the line! Nathan called twice and said she's moving extremely fast so I joined in the urgency and raced out of the house, making it to the hospital in record timing.
*Jason would later tell me of how I flew out of the house and he thought "I don't even think she stopped to brush her teeth! I didn't.

I called the parentals on the way and they were taking turns showering and doing their hair! But I knew Savannah would be there to greet me in a similar manner I would be presenting - I was right. :)

So it was just us, her bother and his girlfriend for some time...waiting...at 4:00am...and we all were laughing about how ridiculous it as that everyone else was showering and getting ready when they might miss it! We concluded that them showering and all would be the joke of the day probably.

Turns out, Tucker slowed WAY DOWN when the epidural took effect and - well, the joke was on us. Yes. Everyone was dressed, rested, ready for the day, and then there was me and Sav - 7 hours later. Ha.

But it was well worth it and super exciting to be on the "waiting" end of it all!!! I'm loving the Auntie role already!!!!!

The Potty

Apparently it's that time.
Yall know that I am usually behind on transitions with the kids because (a) I don't like them and (b) we have had great success thus far with letting them take the lead and show interest.

Enter the Big Potty.

one night at Community Group a few weeks ago, one of the little girls ran upstairs and exclaimed that Lincoln was in the bathroom and had take his pants and diaper off and was trying to use the toilet. I ran down to find exactly what she described, and proceeded to set him on the toilet and let him do his thing. Then when he was done he goes "I wanna wash hands."

Okay.

Funny thing is we've never worked with him on this.

Since then, he randomly tells us he needs to pee-pee, and when he does, we do the same setting-him-on-the-toilet(mind you, backwards) routine. We don't do it every time, just when he asks so far. I call this the "introduction phase".

Now, when he went to stay with his g=parents last week, God bless them, they kept with it! They even bought him a training potty that sings to him when he succeeds.

This week, we've added something: rewards. :)

But Lincoln's easy...he gets a stamp on his hand when he uses the potty and you'd think we gave him a hundred dollar bill.

Sunday, he pooped in the potty for the first time! Then later on that day, I could tell he was doing #2 in his diaper, then he caught himself and yelled "Mommy!! I got to potty!!" So I sat him on the potty and he finished his stuff! He got double stamps for that.

Anyway - that's where we're at. I haven't read a darn thing on potty training yet so we could be completely going about it the wrong way...who knows.

I'd love to hear your stories of what worked for you. (well, your kids). :)

10 Months

Mr. Noah Jackson is 10 months old today!!! I forgot how FUN this stage is! This little tiny man has really come to life in the past few weeks.
Though he is not walking yet, he pulls up on everything and can stand independently for sometime now. He can almost stand up independently...but not quite there yet. Lincoln loves getting Noah's hand and making one of us get the other so we can "walk" Noah. Most of the time, Noah likes this, too. (Most of the time - ha).
Noah still loves your undivided attention and to be held, but you can find him more and more playing contently by himself in the toy room, or climbing in and out of toy boxes around the house.

Noah and Lincoln seem to play more and more each month. This past week or so, they've really interacted more than usual. Lincoln found out Noah loves playing ball, too...and that Noah can even catch!

Noah's still a good sleeper. He takes a few naps a day, and wakes up around 8:00. He is till on formula in bottles every 3-4 hours. He doesn't eat baby food anymore. He has no teeth still, but the boy can EAT (or gum, I guess). He loves everything, too...literally. I haven't found anything he doesn't like yet.

He messes around with Lincoln's sippy cup, but we haven't really got him started on this yet.

Noah had his first overnight outing with us this past week. One night he stayed with Mimi and Papa and then he went with Gran-Gran and Poppa for 4 nights after that! They all said he did great.

And thank goodness we're still not experiencing the attachment issues at church. Man that would be nice to skip that phase. :)

Overall, this little guy's been a pretty easy-going baby. I can't believe it's almost in that acceptable-party-planning range where we start getting ready for his 1-year birthday.

Just Plain Bored

What do you do when you're bored, waiting for the kids to wake up so you can go visit your sister/mother and go to the basketball game? Write a blog. Um, except I can't think of anything to say. So I apologize in advance because I know it probably gets old just looking at pictures, but I'm a little too giddy about my new camera right now.
So have a fantastic weekend...enjoy this first week of December...and Go Tigers (we're playing for third today).

My Latest Love

So I did it...I got the camera. And though I'm completely lost on how to use it at the moment, I've been having fun trying/reading/figuring it out.
The likely first subject of my training?
Bruce Wayne.
But then the kids woke up and the fun has begun. :)
I am in love.

Special Day

For many reasons, today is special. The obvious, that I turned 29 (not so special number but oh well!) and have been blessed to be raised in a home by loving parents who have continually shown me the way of Christ. In my 29 years, I've come to know just how rare this is...and even rarer that they are still happily married.
So thank you, Mom & Dad for demonstrating true commitment to each other, your children, and your relationship with the Lord.
I was watching. :)

SECONDLY, I get to see my precious kids tonight!!!!! They've had a past 4 days of just down-right being spoiled the good ole way in which grandparents are suppose to and I am so thankful they carved out this time, devoting it to loving on Noah and Lincoln. From all I can gather, they're gonna be sad to leave!

Jason and I celebrated all afternoon/night yesterday and that time was seriously PRICELESS...I loved every second of it. It was so nice to go out, Christmas shop for the boys, and not have to worry about rushing home to relieve the babysitter! Oh - and I got another necklace out of the deal :) I say "Another" cause I got one last year, too - I'm liking this tradition!

So how am I celebrating tonight?
Bethany and I are going out to eat before....
Basketball, of course. :)

Go Tigers.