Buddies

We've been blessed with some pretty fantastic friends. As I look through random pictures I've taken through each month, I am reminded of that.

And speaking of friends, I was lucky enough to run my first ever 5K with these two lovely ladies. It was very cool to be able to run with them in support of all the women who have fought breast cancer. Thoughts of those brave women, like my mother in law, kept flashing through my head that morning. It was a great experience, and dare I say I might run another race in the future?!?

Owen's First Job

Owen is our "hard worker". Even at the age of 2 he would want to be outside doing some project with Chris. He's always preferred toys with a purpose...lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc. For Christmas we decided to get him a real leaf blower, and that things has been used quite a bit! He was hired by some friends of ours to come blow out the leaves from under their deck, and I think his chest swelled a little bit as he walked to their house with his leaf blower in hand! When he came back with the money he earned, he was so excited to put it in his piggy bank. We always joke that he's going to be the kid that starts his own lawn mowing business at 12...hopefully this is the beginning of that!

A Full-Filled Weekend in OK

We had the chance to bring some AR friends across the border to OK and cram several fun activities into one weekend. We started out at the Tulsa zoo...

In the 20 some years I lived in OK, I never once made it to the Tulsa zoo. It was fun checking it out with the kids and several buddies. It was pretty chilly, but we still managed to have have fun.

After the zoo, we all headed to OKC for a night of good food and basketball. My parents watched all of our kids (THANK YOU GUYS!!!), and we had a blast being adults on the town. I didn't do a very good job of getting pictures of the game or of anything else really. Guess we'll have to go back. 

That Saturday, the AR people headed back home, and we stayed to celebrate Papi's birthday. The kids went fishing with Papi, played outside, built forts inside, and pretty much had a great time being together. We grilled out and ate amazing apple pie. It was a fun night being together as a family and enjoy each other's company. Thanks for having a birthday, Papi! Here's to MANY more to come!

To top the weekend off we met Grandma Debbie at IHop for breakfast and enjoyed catching up with her and Lynn. I told her that I can't see an IHop without thinking of her!

It was a fun-filled weekend with friends and family. We left with great memories and wanting to do it again soon!

Harper Turns 3!

 My baby girl turned three! She's talked a lot about this birthday...turning "free" as she says. She has told us that she is a "big sister" now that she's "free".

I didn't get any pictures of her waking up to pink balloons in her bedroom door or of her opening her gifts from her brothers. #momfail Owen picked out a princess dress for her (well she picked it out and he offered to get it for her for her birthday...smart guy), and Ethan got her dolls from Frozen. She requested homemade donuts for breakfast, mac and cheese for lunch, pizza for dinner. 

Her birthday party was 100% girlie. She wanted a Frozen party, so the amazing B's Cakes made her an delicious strawberry cake that was almost too beautiful to eat! We painted finger nails, listened to the Frozen soundtrack, wore princess dresses and tiaras, and colored Frozen coloring sheets. I think everyone had a fun time, and Harper is of course already planning her 4th birthday party!

Frozen has been the first thing H has become obsessed with. To feed that obesession her Aunt Keela bought her the Ana dress and doll for her birthday which she has worn a ton. While listening to the soundtrack. Belting out every song. Pretty sure it makes me smile every time I hear it!

I have loved having Harp as my daughter. She's spunky, expressive, passionate, sensitive, strong, hilarious, loving, strong-willed, and perceptive for a three year old. She can make you feel so loved with her hugs and sweet words, and she will try hard to make you laugh. She's a pretty fantastic little lady, and I feel lucky to be her mom!

Weird Weather

This month has been crazy with the different weather. There was tons of snow...and then it warmed up enough for my kids to strip down to their undies and play one afternoon. We couldn't be more ready for summer...

Family Birthday Party

We had a family birthday weekend to celebrate all three kid's birthdays, and it was a fun filled weekend of cake, gifts, and time with family. The kids were able to play outside quite a bit, and the adults even got to go out to dinner and make a quick trip to Crystal Bridges. It was a great weekend!

 The kids compromised on their joint birthday cake and landed on a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Not a surprise, but we have some very opinionated cake eaters!

 They loved all the gifts, and it was even more fun having the cousins there to help them play with the toys.

Thanks to all the family that was able to make the party, and we missed those of you who couldn't come!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Our local YMCA hosted a Daddy-Daughter dance, and it pretty much made Harper's year to be able to attend. I took her shopping for a dress a few weeks before, and she asked every day up until the event if it was time to go to the dance.

 There was a red carpet for the little girls to walk down as someone announced their name and their favorite princess. (Harp surprisingly said Cinderella...I fully expected Elsa!) There was food, games, and dancing. Chris said Harper could have danced all night and was not ready to come home!

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to watch Harper and all her buddies with their dads! She's already talking about going to the next dance...

Owen Turns Five!

My baby boy turned five! His age seems to sneak up on me more than the other two kiddos. That may be the plight of the middle child, or I just want him to stay my baby boy forever...

Owen knew exactly what he wanted to do for his birthday. He had his meals all picked out: homemade donuts for breakfast, PB&J for lunch, and pizza for dinner. He woke up to red balloons on his door and all new baseball gear for tee ball. 

He was adamant about having his party at Chuck E Cheese's, and he didn't want cake. He wanted donuts. It really was one of the easiest parties we've had. 

I didn't get any pictures of Owen's birthday time with Mimi and Papi, but he chose to spend the night in a hotel with them. They watched the Lego movie, swam, and ate McDonald's. Owen had his bag packed to go with them three days in advance. I love the memories that they're making together!

I feel pretty blessed I get to to be Owen's mom too. He's focused, hard working, determined, sweet, compassionate and has an infectious giggle. I love how he takes care of his sister (most of the time), and makes sure to tell me he loves me multiple times a day. He's one special five year old!

Happy Valentine's Day

Amy and I felt very accomplished as we let all our kiddos help make Valentine's cookies.  The kids mostly wanted to eat the dough and icing, but they did manage to get several decorated in the process!

Just Because

We've been home more lately, and so the kiddos only have each other to play with. It's been fun watching them become buddies and all play together. 

Harp sure loves here Dad! These two babies-of-the-family are certainly peas in a pod!

And you can definitely tell that Harp has older brothers... Thankfully whether she's wearing a football jersey over her pink shirt, talking about Ninjago or Skylanders, or driving around the yard on a tractor, she still maintains her girliness too. 

Potty Training

 Harper has been saying that she would be potty trained when she was three. She was pretty set on that age. It sounded like a good time for me too, but as we got another big snow that shut the entire town of Bville down (again), I decided we should put to good use the time being stuck in the house... Thankfully, she complied and potty training was nearly as traumatic as I'd anticipated!

I let her pick out several kinds of juices, borrowed a pink potty from friend, and we watched a lot of Doc McStuffins. She did fantastic. We may have had 2 accidents early on, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly. Going #2 seemed to be scary and that took a little longer, but overall the process was smooth.

I'd promised her a ballerina outfit once she was potty trained. It hung in her closet for about 3 months before we took the plunge. She was very excited to finally get to wear it, but once the camera came out she busted out some very intense/Black Swan type moves. She never ceases to surprise me. 

Now we have no children in diapers!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

Ethan Turns SEVEN

Seven sounds older. Six didn't seem like much of a change, but for some reason having Ethan turn seven seems like a bigger deal. Maybe because it's getting closer to 10?!! 

We were able to celebrate Ethan several times over the month of January. He woke up the morning of his birthday to balloons and gifts from his brother and sister. (Skylander games & figures were the hot item) Later that day we took cupcakes up to his school and celebrated with his whole class. From what Ethan's teacher said, he was loving being the birthday boy. :) 

That weekend Ethan requested a Super Hero/Ninja/Justice League birthday party. (Honestly the theme changed about 5 times that week...his poor friends weren't sure if they were supposed to dress up or not!) They all watched a few episodes of the Justice League, ate pizza and swapped gifts. 

To top off the birthday celebrations, Mimi and Papi came and picked Ethan up and took him back to OK for the weekend. He thoroughly enjoyed having their undivided attention, eating whatever he wanted, and then going to an OSU/OU wrestling match that Sunday. He still talks about drinking a WHOLE coke and eating cotton candy at the match. He was in heaven!

I'm so thankful to be Ethan's mom and to be able to watch him to continue to grow and evolve. He's still incredibly loyal, sensitive, passionate, a climber, an observer, a great hugger, a protective big brother, and my first baby boy. Happy birthday, buddy!

A Beautiful Day on the Farm

The last time we were at Paw Paw's it was a particularly beautiful afternoon. Everyone  went to collect the eggs (one of the my kid's favorite activities down there), and several more fun memories were made in the process...

I loved that Harper hangs her head out the window of the truck telling Paw Paw to drive faster all while wearing her tutu...

Chris even got into the action...

 

Owen was a little nervous at first, but after Paw Paw caught him he was ready to go again!

What a Year...2013!

I found this "year in review" form on a blog and thought it would be fun to see how the kiddos answered...

The Christmas Marathon

 We feel very blessed that we're able to celebrate Christmas multiple times during the season, and this year was no different. I think the kids love that they can say they get to have four Christmas celebrations...it's hard to beat!

Our Family Christmas

 We let the kids open the gifts they'd bought each other the night of the 23rd, and I think it's safe to say they all bought well for each other. The hugs and "how did you know I wanted this" was the best. We celebrated our Christmas the morning of the 24th, and this year we did four gifts for each of us: a want, a need, something to wear, and something to read. Naturally Harper's favorite gift was her "something to wear"...that girl loves her sparkly shoes! Ethan seemed to spend most of the morning reading, and Owen was so excited for his "want" - a real leaf blower. He could hardly wait to get into the garage and blow leaves out.

After we enjoyed a leisurely morning of playing with our gifts, eating cinnamon rolls and lounging in our pjs, we packed up and headed to Oklahoma...

Dodson Christmas

This was the year for us to be at my parent's, and it was a full house with 8 adults and 8 grandkiddos (the 9th is coming soon)! The cousins loved playing with each other and the adults enjoyed being together and eating Mimi's food. 

Mimi started the tradition that the grandkids act out the story of Christ's birth while Papi reads it out loud. The last two years Jack and Ethan have requested the roles of the donkeys...I won't read into that one... Claire is Mary, Owen is Joseph, and Lily, Harper and Micah are angels. I think Henry was supposed to be baby Jesus, but he was much more content sitting in Mimi's lap. Needless to say, it's quite entertaining.

 Mimi always does such a good job picking out matching pjs for everyone...

 And the rest of the time we just enjoyed being together! The older kids were always in a fort, outside exploring or engrossed in Legos, so most of my pictures are of the little girls...

Grandma

We were able to see Grandma while we were in Oklahoma and exchange gifts with her and Lynn. It was cute watching the kids open their gifts and be in awe that she knew exactly what they wanted. Even though the time with her was short, the kids managed to squeeze in some peach water and a meal at Ted's. Everyone was happy!

Paw Paw's

And last but certainly not least, we headed to Paw Paw's to celebrate with the "Southern Hoyles". The kids love running into his living room to see their gifts on his pool table, and as always he got them great gifts. He fed us all well per the usual and it was fun making memories with the cousins. 

Our marathon Christmas season really put a nice bow on 2013 for us. We feel incredibly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Above all, we're thankful that our Savior!

Merry Christmas!

Snows Days

 In case you hadn't heard, NWA was hit a massive blizzard that shut schools down and kept most people stuck indoors for almost a week. (And when I say "blizzard" I really mean 6" of snow...) The first two days of the snow we loved being warm and cozy in our house, letting the kids take 30 minutes to bundle up only to spend about 10 minutes outside, and eating lots of cookies and home-baked goodness.

By the third day cabin fever started in... Luckily we were able to get out and go for donuts and hit Wal-Mart for a few necessities. It's sad when those to things are huge for moral! By the fourth day we were all done. Ethan kept asking when it was going to be "swimming weather" and Harper flipped out every time she saw gloves and a coat. I think Chris and I were hitting our heads against walls... How do you Northerners do it all the time!?! 

Thankfully our buds, the Harrises, made the trek to our house and we spent the afternoon sledding and enjoying looking at new faces. By the time they left, we felt like new people again! Mr Jim Jim's delicious Sidecars might have helped that too... 

Life is slowly returning to normal. The city's plan of "lets just let the ice melt" is finally coming to fruition, and we even saw a road grader scraping ice off our street yesterday (8 days after the initial snow). The snow was fun for a bit, but this Southerner is already ready for spring! 

Bedlam...Such a Dirty Word

This year leading up to the Bedlam game was definitely more interesting than the few years prior. Ethan and Owen have firmly established who their teams are, and the trash talk flew all over the place. (I dress Harper, so she wore orange!) We had just been hit with 6" of snow, but we all dressed up in our colors and went for donuts to celebrate the upcoming game. The rest of the afternoon was less fun as the Cowboys yet again acted like little brothers who didn't believe they could win against the "big, bad Sooners". You'd think after 9 of the 10 years of losing this rivalry game, I'd be used to it now. I am not.

Christmas Season is Upon Us...

The tree is up! We had fun decorating it as a family. Harper was particularly entertaining as each ornament she picked up she oo-ed and ah-ed over how pretty it was. The boys just seemed to break every other one they had...why do they make kid ornaments glass anyway?!