And Then She Turned 5

Every time I look at her baby pictures I am reminded that those moments were the last of her being so tiny. I wish I had taken more videos so I could hear her coo and talk to us. Now the talking she does isn't always so sweet. As a matter of fact, at times she can be downright sassy. I wonder, who is this child with a hand on her hip and a roll of her eyes. And then I realize she is me. And even though she is me, she is she and I love that about her. She loves to sing, she loves to make up silly words, she loves to grab me so tight that I wonder if I didn't move, would she let go? She loves girly things, but really? Gross things...farts especially, are her favorite. (Did I just go there? Yep, I did indeed.) She admires her big brother and many times wonders why she can't be just like him. And he of course, wonders why she can't leave him alone. Ah, siblings.  As she and I navigate the roles we play in each others lives, I only wish that she is happy and confident and always marches to the beat of her own drum.

Trying on my wedding dress

She is five now, almost headed to Kindergarten. In her pre-k class, she is a friend to all and happy to help when asked. After school, she is excited to tell us all about her day and the things she learned and the books they read. I hope school is always this exciting for her as the years go on.

She is tall and skinny and we joke about her being a model...I think she would love it. The camera loves her and her beautiful smile.

Her Daddy loves her to pieces and I hope she realizes how good he is and never settles for anything less when it comes time to date and then eventually marry. For him, no one will ever be good enough. I have to agree, only the strongest among her future boyfriends will survive. She is a firecracker and a force to be reckoned with.

Happy 5th Birthday, my sweet TT. I love you times infinity.

What Blog?

Life, while not extremely busy has kept me from blogging...mostly because by the time I can blog? I don't want to sit in front of the computer and do it. And I've put apps on my phone and swear that each week will be different. And yet here I am with 7 months passing since my last post.  A lot has happened in 7 months...let's catch up:

Spencer finished Kindergarten and we were so excited for him and I will use any excuse for balloons and candy:

We finally finished our back patio, which was a lesson in patience with both the contractor and Pier One. 

We took a trip to Boston and got our history on.

And then it was time for Spencer to start first grade!

Summer's seem to go fast when you are in year round school and most of my days were spent with Miss T and Vader. She did attend bible school camp for a week and that was a nice break for both her and myself. And then she started her last year of preschool.

We took another trip to Walt Disney World and even though we had one sick child, we still managed to have a great time. Does anyone else come back from Disney needing another vacation? We do a lot but we also rest a lot and yet when we get home I feel like I need a week of sleep.

After our fall vacation, the end of the year comes fast. My birthday is a blur (41 this year!) and then suddenly we are pushed right past Halloween and Thanksgiving and straight on to Christmas. It's a mad dash to celebrate everything and make everything so meaningful and spend all the dollars. I read more than one article talking about saying no during the holiday rush and truly slowing down. I have to agree with that sentiment. You don't have to do ALL. THE. THINGS. 

This all brings us into the new year where the husband and I celebrated our 12th year of marriage...by leaving the country. First class to London! Of course I had to stop at Platform 9 3/4. Next time I want to take the Warner Brothers Movie Tour. I also managed to hit all the floors of Harrod's. They were having a big sale and so the place was a madhouse...but if you like having all of your designers in one place, this is it. You could buy a car in the store...or Uggs.

January was not complete without a family trip as well...it actually was a week before our anniversary and we did a Disney cruise. It was awesome and we are looking forward to possibly booking another one! 

We now have a 7 year old...and he is just such a great damn kid. Funny, smart and sensitive. He cares so much about people being happy and all I want is for him to be happy and do what makes him happy. Miss T will be 5 shortly and when I think about this I miss all the time that has already passed. I don't take nearly as many pictures as I can and that's because I really want to be in each moment with them. I find that to be a hard balance and yet I don't want to forget the things we do or places we've been.

So that is what has been happening in Mommy This and That land...hope all y'all that read here are well.

13

13 is the number of years I spent taking dance class. I remember going to a weekly class and enjoying the time I spent there. There was a time that I thought maybe I wanted to be a professional ballerina and dance with Mikhail Baryshnikov. And you would think after 13 years that maybe I came close. But sadly I never pushed myself and just took dancing for what it was...fun.

This past month I signed up our little Miss T for her first ever dance lessons. She has naturally shown a liking for music and dancing, more so than her brother ever did. And when a great Groupon popped up at a studio not to far from our home? I decided to take the plunge.

It was exciting for me to purchase all the gear and then put it on her. My heart skipped a beat when we placed her feet into the ballet slippers and she smiled. When it was time for her to go with her teacher, Ms. Carrie, she didn't hesitate. She got in line with all the other little girls and away they went to their class.

After class she came out smiling and quickly ran to give me a big hug. She seems so small and yet at the same time so big. I forget that soon she will be three and is slowly inching away from babyhood toddlerhood. She has opinions and can be quite bossy. She is testing all limits and her reactions are quite dramatic. Especially when she doesn't like what we have to say. Are these glimpses of the teen years? Or of the person she is becoming? I am sure they are and along with the days we spend laughing, there will be days we spend butting heads and not liking each other very much. But now? In this moment, there is my little girl, in her pink skirt and her pink shoes with a smile on her face...listening for the music and then dancing. And I hope she always hears the music and is never afraid to dance.

Just Add Water

Wordful Wednesday - Brother and Sister

I took this picture at the park over the weekend. We haven't let Spencer hold Teagan since we brought her home from the hospital. There are two reasons for that...one is that he hasn't really asked. And the second? He has a tendency to be to rough with her. He has let us know that he is jealous of the time we give her, that use to be his. I need to get better about giving Spencer more of my time one on one. It's a very hard balance and I will kindly take any advice on how to do this.

When I asked Spencer if he wanted to slide down the slide with Teagan he got very excited and seemed a bit apprehensive when I told him to hold her tight. He did hold her but she still ended up bumping her head and scaring her brother to almost tears. But I managed to get several shot...and that's all that matters, right? No one is worse for wear and Mommy got the shot!

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Brother and Sister

This is my current Facebook profile picture...I absolutely love it!

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Our Easter Best

I attempted to take Easter pictures of myself with the kids on Sunday. It didn't work out the way I envisioned it. I did get some pictures and found that this one was among my favorites:

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Big Feet, Little Feet

I have to be honest, this picture while taken by me, was actually taken first via phone by my sister-in-law. She has a good eye...as the comparison speaks volumes and makes for an awesome picture!

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday: And We Call Her Teagan

Yesterday was March 1st. 

Yesterday our family went from being 3 members to becoming 4. 

Yesterday my heart managed to grow bigger.

Yesterday we celebrated the birth of Teagan Elisa. 

Today we continue to stare at her in awe and love.

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Two Peas in a Pod

Hard to imagine that Spencer was this tiny, especially when being held by his Daddy!

And soon we get to do it all again with a little girl. Amazing.

35 weeks

Dear Baby Girl,

This has been a hard week for me, as I'm getting slower and even more uncomfortable. The doctor believes you had flipped, which is wonderful news. Not so great? All the pressure you are now putting down in my nether regions. I feel like I'm running to the bathroom so much and not doing much when I get there.

You are also moving, a lot! It seems no matter how I sit or lay, you don't like it and quickly let me know. Especially with a few quick kicks and jabs that make me jump. What are you doing in there??

We are officially a month away from your due date. I am both excited and afraid. I am also ready to have my body back and sleep on my stomach. Did I mention how I am having a lot of bouts with insomnia? Yeah, not fun. Of course I don't expect to get much sleep when you arrive but at least I will be able to get comfy when I do catch a few minutes of sleep.

Love,
Mommy

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Like Father, Like Son

My husband always tells me how people always tell him Spencer looks just like me. And I see it, there are times he really is a mini version of myself. But when he's making faces? Yep, he's all his Daddy!! Tell me I'm wrong?

My Monday Musings - Christmas Edition

No real musings today, instead I am going to leave you with a few of our Christmas pictures. Seems that is the thing to do, as just about everyone in the blogosphere has done some sort of Christmas recap.

Our Christmas was just the three of us and we were lucky that all the 'bad' weather made for a great day...because Hubby was able to stay and enjoy Christmas. He had originally been scheduled to work. I consider that our very own Christmas miracle. Anyhoo, without further ado a few shots of our day.

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Fun w/ Photobooth

Last night as I was sitting on the computer before heading up for bath and bed, Spencer came to me and asked me to hold him. I obliged and I decided we would have some fun with Photobooth. This was one of our outtakes.

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Family Portrait

While a picture may speak a thousand words, sometimes you just have to add to it. I get Wordless Wednesday and I even get Wordful Wednesday, so I'm combining it. I like posting pictures and I like adding a caption or back story. Cause in the end, is there really a wrong way to update your blog? Nope, didn't think so.

Here is a nice collage of several bad shots we took before getting a final one to put on Christmas cards. And this year I had THREE different cards that went out. I've never done that before but I thank Shutterfly. I was very happy with their cards and the turn around time on them. I will post the final outcome on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Until then, this will have to do!

Wordless Wednesday: Playing in the leaves

These are the moments that I love capturing. These are the pictures that I will look at when the house is empty and Spencer has a family of his own. These are the pictures I love.

From our family to yours...

*this picture is from Thanksgiving 2009. Spencer had maybe 3 teeth but that didn't stop him from grubbing on our small feast.

You Ought to be in Pictures

Back in October my husband surprised me with an SLR camera. We had been discussing getting one and I said something along the lines of "if I had one, we would never have to visit a photography studio to keep up with professional pictures." Never mind that taking a family portrait is actually a ton more work than I have the patience for or that the pictures I take are far from professional. It sounded good, so I went with it. And he did good and bought me a Canon digital SLR.

I have taken a ton of pictures and many of them I have posted here, more to showcase my handsome boy rather than any skills I might think are budding. It's fun to take pictures and captures moments and expressions that are fleeting as the boy grows older and bigger. I have thought about getting into photography a bit more seriously but have no clue where to start. Maybe I should start with learning every function of my camera?

When I have the camera out, trying to get Spencer to pose is a joke. He looks every which way but the direction I want and spends more time trying to touch the camera than pose for it. That being said I usually just snap as many pictures as I can in a row and figure at least one of them has to come out good, right? Here is a picture where I did just that:

I obviously added the framing and messed with the coloring but the actual photo was all me. Something about it just makes me smile. I love when I get one like this in a bunch of shots.

I think if I get a zoom lens I will be able to capture more moments and be less intrusive. Something about a camera gets kids to act so different.

Grr...

Love this photo...Prince looks so bothered. Ha! Silly dog needs to realize that Spencer is the only one that actually wants to hang out with him.

This says it all.

What else is there to say after posting this picture?