Happytimes of Mindy, Seth, and Elem

Happy New Year!

2012-01-13T07:12:00.001-08:00

2012 is going to be such a fabulous year for us.......

I love my little family and I can't wait for all the new fabulous experiences and memories we are going to enjoy this year!

Thank You Santa Clause

2012-01-04T08:01:00.001-08:00

This Christmas was by far the best Christmas we have ever had! 4 years old is for sure the key year to enjoy magic of Santa and everything he brings to make Christmas more fun. Even though it took me finishing my finals before I actually got into the Christmas Spirit, once I got there, it was so amazing. I loved every single second of talking about Christmas with Elem, the face that it is Jesus' birthday and he loves us so much that he lets everyone get presents on his birthday, and of course good ole Santa Clause and his reindeer.

Of course we did some tree decorating and went all out with as many lights as possible on the house. And when I say we, I mean Seth climbed on the house and did all that fancy work outside :) Its way to cold for me to be out there. haha. Everyone in our house LOVES decorating the tree and I think this is always the one thing that gets us really ready for Christmas. Every year I plan to get a real tree and go to the Christmas Tree farm and cut our own down, but ever since I have been in nursing school there is just never enough time to do it. SO, we settled for a live tree from our local Lowes. Elem could have cared less though, and he loved decorating his own christmas tree for his room the best.

Our tradition is to buy a new ornament (or 2!)every year that Elem picks out so he can add it to his tree. This year he chose a gigantic gold fleur de lis (noting that it was "The Saints", and he only wanted that one). haha So we got it.

Elem ended up with not only all of his ornaments, but most of the ones I like to decorate our tree with too. Oh well, his tree was fantastic!

A couple of days before Christmas Memaw came to celebrate with us and she got Elem super into opening presents. He was hooked from the first present! We had a blast, and Elem scored a blue Wii, which he is slightly obsessed with now. Thank you Memaw!! And made a yummy gingerbread choo choo train. Yes, most people don't eat these things once they are put together but Elem continued to eat off of it until I threw it away!

On Christmas Eve we went to Ali and Dustin's house to celebrate with just us and the Shelby's, and the kids of course had a blast! Opening all kinds of presents, and running wild. We made Christmas cookies for Santa and left reindeer food outside for Rudolph and his gang to be sure they would stop by our house! ;)

Seth and I awoke on Christmas morning to our lights being flipped on with screams of-

"Mom, Dad, get up!!! Santa did come!!!!! Look what he brought me! " (as he was holding his big blue hula hoop in his arms with the biggest grin I have ever seen. It was amazingly awesome. Seeing his face and hearing his excitement had us jumping up and running into the living room to see what Santa had brought him. Loved it! One of my favorite moments ever.

For a not so morning person, this little guy perked up and started tearing into his presents, loving every single thing he got from Santa! He was so sweet and didn't complain about one thing! Which was very important to me. I really wanted him to be thankful this Christmas and not spend too much of his energy whining and worrying over presents. I mean they are the most fun part of Christmas, but I just wanted it to be positive and not a spoiling negative kind of holiday season!!!

Yes, Santa broke down and brought a play rifle to the house. Tsk tsk. What are you gonna do? I mean look at that grin:)

Who knew Santa knew all about Super Heros!!!

After opening lots of presents and playing with lots of new toys, when under the tree was pretty much bare, Elem found one last special letter from Santa.....

hehehehehehe. He was so pumped and had no idea what Santa might have brought him! He wanted 3 things from santa-A blue hula hoop (check!), a remote control hot wheels (check!), and a _____________!

I apologize for the terrible video footage but again, I have no camera! So Iphone images and video are all we got this year! haha. Hey, the video is worth a thousand words!

I just cant say it enough. What a great Christmas! It was pretty low key, just the way we wanted with all the stress from school, and all of our busy schedules. We got to spend time with family, lots of time with just our own little family, and had just enough time to squeeze in some fun holiday traditions. Merry Christmas!

Oops I almost forgot, Elem did help me wrap up some special presents for our adopt a child from the shelter. We (along with my clinical group from school) adopted this little 7 week old girl, and got her lots of cute clothes and things. And even though Elem didnt think her presents were all that cool, he did help me wrap some of them and take them to the shelter to drop them off. He was so proud to walk in there and say that he helped her have a good Christmas. It was amazing. Our plan is to to that every year and hopefully next year he can choose most of the items and we can continue our little tradition!

Happy Holidays......

2011-12-19T17:23:00.001-08:00

Snapshot of our Christmas Card this year! Not the best image of it, but I had to work with the iphone camera :)

Happy Holidays, Love-The Shelbys

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

2011-12-12T18:11:00.001-08:00

Christmas is in the air and Santa Clause has been watching our house like crazy this season! And Elem is all about it. He is more into Christmas time in general, being good for Santa, wrapping and opening presents, and being thankful for what you get no matter what it might be! This year has def been the best year to watch Elem get excited and look at all the toys and ideas of things he hopes for Santa to bring. He loves the Christmas Tree, all the ornaments, lights, stockings, everything. And most importantly, he loves him some Santa Clause! We made a trip to visit Santa with Cecilia and Nate, and Elem knew before we even left, exactly what he was going to say to the big man.

Feeling very cool to be talking to the "real" Santa Clause. Uhm, and we know he is the "real" Santa Clause because he has a real beard. I made sure Elem knew this important detail before we left for the visit!

Nate, Cecilia, and Elem....very interested in Santa, and not being shy AT ALL! Unfortunately, Santa's camera decided to not work right when we got to the front of the line, so there was a little issue with actually getting a pic. But at least we got to take our own for free! yay!

Santa: What would you like for Christmas?

Elem: I want a remote control hot wheels.

Cecilia: I want a pink convertible.

Santa checking to see if everybody has been good this year...Elem super interested, Cecilia super interested....Nate-not so much.

Trying to get a pic of all three in their Christmas best was a nightmare, so this is what you get: Merry Christmas from Cecilia, Elem, and Nate!

These 2 however, are BFFs till the end, love/hate relationship often times, but the majority of the time is LOVE.

Trip to visit Santa was sooo much fun, and perfect for Elem. He loved Santa, he loved running around the mall, loved riding all the kiddie rides, loved eating dip n dots and chick fil a for lunch. Christmas trip success for sure!

Elem's favorite Christmas Song as of now...You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why, Santa Clause is coming to town!!! Love to hear him sing this song. His sweet little singing voice is to die for.

We are Thankful!

2011-11-28T14:06:00.001-08:00

Top three things on Elem's list this year.....

"I am thankful for my Blankey, Sage, and Momma".

Ill take that as a win. :) At least he is thankful!

Pumpkinish Activities!

2011-11-15T12:40:00.001-08:00

Uhm finding time to do punkinish activities while in nursing school-ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE!!! Let me repeat. ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. My life is so hectic and busy that I felt as if fall flew by me and almost before I could even catch a moment to celebrate the leaves changing colors and the fun of pumpkins and halloween. Luckily, somehow, we were able to spend a little family time outside enjoying the nice weather, and I was able to take Elem to his school field trip to the pumpkin patch! It was seriously, the best field trip ever!! The weather was so great, and Elem had a blast with his friends.

Elem, Luke, and Addison at the top of the giant hay stacks.

Me: " Elem go pick out a pumpkin! You get to take one home with you!"

ELem: "Okay mom, I found one" (see pic below)

Enjoying the train rides with Ethan and Izak

Super jump off the huge haystack. Check.

Swinging with Preston.

And of course pumpkin painting and decorating with mommy.

I just keep telling myself, next year will be different. Next year will be different. I will have sooo much more time to do all the things with Elem that I want to. But at the same time, I don't want to miss out on making memories now! He is at such a fun age!!! Truth be told we had a great time making the pumpkins and we actually started carving one, werent having that much fun because he thought it was gross, and decided to go "mr potato head" with the pumpkin. And it turned out great!

Happy Fall!

Super Hero Family

2011-11-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

How else would we rock out on Halloween this year??? Uhm, Supr Hero families are the best right?! Even if they are made up from old clothes, your kids super hero costumes, toys, and a few scraps around the house!

Per Elem: Here we have, "Super Pumpkin Sage, Bat-Daddy, Super Momma, and Spiderman"

So, I am that mom that has "strongly encouraged" her child in the years past to be something "cool" for Halloween. Especially with a child that USED to hate dressing up! Nothing on the face, nothing tight or costume like at all. It was difficult, but I did what I could over the last few years with him being an awesome Pirate one year (with the best costume ever), a penguin as a baby, and a farmer during one of those awful phases when we were lucky to get him in pants for the night. LOL. Anyway-needless to say, I am anti character and of course anti those ugh ...super hero costumes from Walmart!!!!

However, this year, I chose to pick my battles, and go with the flow. Letting my sweet little 4 year old choose his outfit of choice and just deciding early on not to care either way. So, Spider man it was. And yes it cost $10.00. And I could not be prouder of his excitement and commitment to character. Haha. I even let him choose his shoes, and when he came out of his room he had some red house shoes, a size and 1/2 too small, that matched perfectly. Ahh, what are you gonna do???

Here is Nate- Pirate, Cecilia- Tinkerbell, and Elem-Spiderman.

My all time favorite halloween pic. hahahaha. Spider man and Tink at their best.

It was so much fun!! We hit up like 3 blocks of houses around our neighborhood, and the kids got waay to much candy! I love Halloween around our neighborhood, and love how everybody gets their houses so decorated and ready for the kids. All except that one house who makes sure their lights are on, and hangs the 8X10 white paper that reads: NO CANDY, underlined and in all caps none the less. Some people just have no little kid halloween spirit!

Hope for a Cure 2011

2011-10-31T11:31:00.001-07:00

Every year, my family is excited and happy to participate in the Race for the Cure! We always do it in honor of my mom who is a breast cancer survivor!!! And we couldn't imagine NOT going! The weather was perfect this year and as always there was more pink to go around than you could ever imagine. Little Rock is still one of the top cities for turnout for Race for the Cure and its amazing to see all the people out there supporting those who have beaten breast cancer, and those they are honoring who didn't survive their battle. We love you memaw and are so proud of your battle!

The crew up bright and early and ready to walk supporting my mom! Just about everybody is up and cheerful....note Elem with his face not looking towards the camera. Hmm, you can only force so much at 7am and hope for so much with us late sleepers who are not quite the happy morning people. This year was a little hectic with school and work so I didn't get to get TOO "pinked" out, but so help me next year I will be graduated and I will have plenty of time to get ready in advance! Oh I cannot wait for the day!!!!

Me, Elem, Memaw, Jeff, Ann, and Seth.

Jeff and I. Happy.

Memaw and Ann :) So happy Ann could join us this year!!

Here is Elem giving Memaw lots of hugs after finishing the big race. His favorite part, and mine too is always at the end when my mom runs through the tunnel of balloons and gets to give everybody high 5s! Its so fun!

Wahooo Everybody loves confetti and everybody loves memaw!!! Especially Elem Zane.

I think Race for the Cure is amazing and I couldn't be prouder to support such an awesome cause for my mom and others who have fought and are currently fighting the battle of Breast Cancer! As they save....Save the Boobies!!!!

Tired.

2011-10-26T19:27:00.001-07:00

I am tired. So very tired. Work. School. Be a Mom. Study. Work. School. Be a Wife. Study. Sleep. Pet Sage. Shower. Work. School. Do Laundry. Work. School. Study. Clean the House. Work. School. Eat. and Study some more.

I. Am. So. Tired.

Remembering when it was this easy. ahhh.

Somebody loves his Natey.

2011-10-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Elem's LOVES with a big huge giant capital L-his baby Nate. He just cant get enough of him, talking about him all the time, taking care of his pretend babies at home, and calling all of them baby Nate, and loving and "taking care" of Nate every single chance he gets when we go to Cecilia's house or see him anywhere. He is so loving with him, it just makes my heart melt. They are going to be the BEST of friends, I can already tell.

Sweet Nate and E.

Flag Football

2011-10-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

This fall we knew we wanted to get Elem involved in some sort of sport because is just too sporty and active not to do it! If you know Elem at all, he loves all sports, especially football, and never seems to run out of energy. So, I signed him up to play Upward Flag Football.

Its through his school, which is part of a church, and thats really how we wanted him to get started with sports. I already know how competitive my preschooler is, so he needed some good sportsmanship/winning isn't everything impacts from some good hearted kind men. :) Upward is perfect for that! Seth was out of town when I signed him up, so I took him to the tryouts by myself. I was confused from the get-go because the fact that this is Elem's 2nd sports try out and he is only 4 years old is pretty overwhelming. Haha. We got there and Elem had to participate in 6 or 7 little stations where he was timed for speed and agility if you will, watched on how many throws he could complete and how precise he was, and then watched for his ability to catch the ball. It was the cutest thing ever. Watching him try to hard and run so fast was so amazing. I loved every second of it.

We soon found out he was on The Rattlers team! Like rattlesnakes I think. lol. Jerseys, cleats, and mouth pieces were soon to follow. And then the games and practices started. The season was so fun, with just one practice every week and one game on Saturday! The kids got to run out of a blow up tunnel each week while their named was called and all the "fans/parents" cheered. It was seriously such a big ordeal, and Elem LOVED it! As far as size-Elem was the biggest kid on his team, about even with some of the kindergardeners, which we knew would be true. He is just so big, it is crazy when I see him with kids from other schools who are in kindergarden and 1st grade and he is their size or bigger! Yikes! But he held his own and had an amazing season. Me and E getting ready for the tunnel!!

His favorite parts of the season were running out of the tunnel at the beginning of each game, playing quarterback, and scoring touchdowns! Here he is running like a mad man out of that tunnel!

He actually made some great friends in the short season, and was a really good sport at every game. His least favorite parts of the game included being in the sun during practice-haha, and pulling flags. Guess it kind of goes against the whole purpose of flag football, but what can I say-the boy doesn't like defense! I believe his flag total for the season was uhm ...3. I think. Oh well, bless his little heart, he could catch the other team every time, but he tended to run right beside them as they ran into the end zone. Oopps!

Offense is his game-and he was my little stud of a quarterback, scoring lots of running touchdowns and even throwing quite a few! His coach told us at the end of the season that Elem got the "most pass touchdown record" for the kindergarden league if they had it! Yeah go E! He threw for 5 touchdowns I think, and it was so adorable. All to the same receiver I might add, his new little friend Alex. The whole experience was so fun and Elem had a blast! At the end of each game, the kids got star stickers to put on their flags, representing what skill or attitude they were the best at for that game. Elem got lots of stars for offensive player of the game, offensive leader of the team, sportsmanship, god-like attitude, and for hard work. But his favorite sticker was the green sticker-which was for knowing his memory verse that week. Haha.

Checking out the Defense before he chooses his play...hmmmm-to run the ball or pass the ball?

My little quarterback, handing the ball off to the running back-

Taking a run himself, holding on TIGHT to that ball!

And he is off to the end zone! wooohoo

Ahh, just taking it easy on defense. haha. Did I mention he was not a defense kind of boy?

Cant believe the time is already here when our little Elem Zane is playing organized sports!! Its so fun and exciting, and nerve racking all at the same time. I never knew quite what kind of sports mom I would be-even though I knew I wanted to be involved. I quickly realized I am that mom on the sideline cheering for every single player on our team (and other team sometimes too haha) and I love every single second of it! I really wanted every kid on our team, especially my own, to know what a great job they were doing and know they we were all so proud of them! And I admit I probably cheered to loud at times, which would probably be why seth had to shush me a couple of times-lol. Oh well, Elem heard me cheering him on and thats all that matters! We LOVE us some flag football and cant wait till next season! More Flag football pics from War Memorial Stadium and flag football videos to come soon!

Our House Memories

2011-10-11T17:10:00.001-07:00

The other day I was FINALLY able to upload the slideshow I made for the summer program at the shelter this year! This slide show is a perfect representation of everything that I put my heart into this summer, (plus a little Elem and Seth of course!), and of so many things that make my heart happy! I love Our House Shelter and all of those that make up the population we serve. I hope to be a part of it each and every year if they will let me keep on hanging around. The slideshow is long, but its about 7 weeks Monday-Friday from 9a-5p filled with all kinds of activities, field trips, games, friends, and just an overload of amazing memories. I will always be in debt to the kids of Our House for everything they have taught me and allowed me to be a part of. Sniff, sniff, okay on with the show.......

I really did spend so much time on this and am just so proud of it. I love every single thing about it! Most importantly, the kiddos that make up the pictures and show me so much what I love about kids-but even the songs were songs that reminded me of the kids and had meaning. The summer of 2011 was to say the least, the summer of Michael Jackson Dance on the Wii. So it just wouldnt have been right without a song from MJ!

That's just how God made me......

2011-10-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

Elem never ceases to amaze me with the things he is learning and understanding these days. And even though I know he is soaking up every bit of everything that is going on around him at home and at school, I just love those moments when he catches me off guard with the most innocent of phrases. He really makes my heart melt at his genuine and sweet little spirit, more than I could ever describe. I love honest and heartfelt, especially when he has no idea how amazing and impact-ful the words are that he says.

Last night, we were getting ready for bed (up WAY later than we should of been), and I noticed something on Elem's ear. I was looking at it, and just kind of leaned in to take a closer look, and said, hmm whats that on your ear. (it was like a little red bump or mosquito bite). And Elem just turned really quick and looked in the mirror and hugged me around my neck, and said, "What? Oh my ear? Oh yeah, thats just how God made me, mom."

It made me totally forget what I was doing and just smile from ear to ear. I love you Elem Zane and your sweet most perfect little heart you have. God made you perfect in just about every single way I could possibly think of and I am SO glad that YOU know he made you! And that you are perfect just the way you are.

*minus the stubbornness of course.

Build-A-Bear

2011-10-05T10:35:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, when Elem went to get his 4 year old shots, we made an extra special trip to the mall to take advantage of the Build-A-Bear Workshop! We have never been, and he was so excited to go, and make his very own stuffed animal, right from scratch! This was something totally different and new for him, so I knew it would make up for all those yucky shots he had to get! WHICH by the way, I am not a happy camper about, because I specifically called and asked if we had to get shots and they told me no. After we arrived at the clinic, and got into the room, the intake nurse told me they were going to be administering 3 shots! I was so not happy. But caught off guard and just went ahead with it. Blah. I would never in a million years let him get more than 1 or 2 max, which is what I did his whole infant and toddler years, to keep them spaced out. But I just wanted to get it over with and not have to go back! So once those shots were done, we headed to Build A Bear, to make up for those awful nurses sticking him :) And put a smile back on his little face!

As soon as we walked in, he was sooo excited! He immediately started looking around at all the crazy stuff they have there for you to create your very own pet/build a bear/ stuffed animal out of! He looked long and hard along the wall of flimsy little stuffed animals to decide which one he would stuff and make his very own. As soon as he saw a black and white spotted dog, he KNEW it was the one for him. Of course, because it is just like Sage. hehe. So cute. He picked his puppy, and headed to fluff him up at the machine, and enjoyed every second of it.

Once his little doggy was nice and stuffed he got to choose his own heart for the pup and place it right inside. Awww. It was so cute. Then he chose from some sounds and placed a small part inside his puppy's hand so he would bark when it was squeezed. After all stuffed, heart, and noise maker and all inside and sewed up the back, Mr. Puppy headed over to the dressing area. Elem looked and looked up and down the walls of limitless clothing and accessories, but as soon as we got to the sports section, he chose the baseball outfit. Fully equipped with shoes and a baseball cap. He spent a lot of time talking to his puppy and dressing him in the dressing room. It was the sweetest thing. He kept telling his puppy..."be still puppy. puppy. daddy is getting you dressed. its okay puppy. " So sweet. ***please take note of the mass amount of clothing options directly behind him!!!

Almost finished puppy :)

Once puppy was dressed and Elem got some good lovin and hugs in (with a HUGE grin because he was so proud of his new little friend), we headed over to name and create this pupp's birth certificate. Hehe. I let Elem type everything for the puppy, he and picked the most perfect name in the whole wide world ........Sage Shelby. What other name would I expect him to pick???? The boy loves his real Sage so much, it is just the most perfect little pick for his personality. After we got the birth certificate and clothing all completed, he got to put his puppy inside a little "home/carrier" to ensure he would make it home safe!

Elem is ALL smiles with his spotted little puppy, decked out in his baseball outfit, nice and snug in his little "home", ready to take him home to our house. He was serious about me taking his pick without puppy out of his cage, because he wanted to keep him in there till we got home.

Such a fun experience and I am sooo glad we went! Little boys DO love stuffed animals too, and Elem had so much fun getting to do everything pretty much on his own and make his own decisions about his new friend. Yay for build a bear!

Wooooooo. PIG SOOIE. Razorbacks!

2011-10-04T13:54:00.001-07:00

How bout them HOGS???? For father's day, Elem and I got Seth tickets to the first Little Rock game this season, and have been so pumped ever since. haha. Guess you could say we love us some hogs.....and if you live in Arkansas you better love those hogs too! The team we played was not the best, and the razorbacks won by lots, yes. But it didnt matter to us, because it was Elem's VERY 1st Razorback game and he could not have been more excited.

Heading out for the game, in his Knile Davis jersey and super excited about a picture with me. It's the idea of the moment that counts I guess! haha.

A little more thrilled to pose with daddy, since "football is a boy's game and I don't evenly know about it because I am a girl" per Elem. All ready in red and white, with his newest "tusk" pillow pet, ready to hit up the tailgate before seeing the live action.

We tailgated for a while, hanging with friends, throwing the football around, and eating some good food, before heading to the entrance where the razorbacks walk thru before the game starts. We did this last year and it was the highlight of Elem's year to see Ryan Mallet and the rest of the hogs that we knew we had to do it again. And it did not disappoint! We saw Bobby Petrino, Knile Davis (even though he is hurt), Jake Beckett, Koby Hamilton, and all the gang, and Elem even got a high 5 or 2 along the way. (It was super hard for him to get a high 5 this year but Seth worked so hard to get him to the front of the line where he could touch some of the razorbacks. haha. He loves it! Here are Seth and Elem showing off those hands that got some razorback high 5s!

And not the best pic in the world, but it was such a great little moment to watch. Elem got up close and personal and got lots of lovin' from Boss hog. He got a couple of pats on the head, some high 5s, and it made his night!

He loved the game, and made it through to the 4th quarter. When I asked him what his most favorite part of the game was he answered, "Boss Hog and The Wave!". Uhm, best answer ever. hahaha. Whatever he loved, it made no difference to us, because we were just so excited that he got to go and got to experience the stadium, and crowd, being so close to the field, etc. Such a great day overall. Go Hogs Go!

Do you hear what I am saying?????

2011-09-26T13:27:00.001-07:00

This is what it seems like when I am trying to get Elem to do something, or listen to what I am saying. He pretty much tunes it out if it isn't what he wants to hear. Ahhh, when will this age turn into the "I wanna be your helper" or " I wanna be like mommy/daddy" age?

Sword fighting duo.

2011-09-21T14:20:00.001-07:00

I do not want to mess with these 2.....they mean business!

", where do you think you're going?" Get back in your room, now."

Cecilia, the Spider Girl, and Elem the scary Bat Boy-sword fighting duo!

A look back on Summer

2011-09-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Oh, summer where did you go?

So, with the camera gone and school and work keeping me going 90 miles an hour, I'v forgotten to mention sooo many thing we did this summer. I want to take a few minutes just to look back and remember the Summer of 2011, even though it went by way to fast for me!

Luckily, there were many many a weekend spent at the lake on Uncle Dustin and Aunt Ali's boat. :) We love love love the lake. All of us. And cant ever get enough of it. Uhm, did I mention we LOVE the lake. Sadly, I worked lots of weekends over the summer, so I couldnt go as many times as I would have liked (like every weekend), but I did get to go plenty and Elem and Seth got to go even more. So it was great! Elem loves driving the boat, swimming in the lake, going super fast, and we all love going to the dam to jump in, freeze our booties off, and climb back in as fast as possible. Ahhh-love the lake.

Hung with the girls at Steph's baby shower for Mr. Gavin. Love these girls. I dont get to see them enough at all! One day, Ill have regular hours like the rest of the world and I will spend lots and lots of time with these amazing girlies like the good old days!

Elem took up planking. We can thank daddy for this one, because he took up planking too. It was short lived, but still fun. He does have amazing form though I must say.

Night out with the girls for Ali's birthday. Wooo hooo. Love these girls too and wish I could hang out with them more also! One day, one day!

Chillin' with Uncle Dustin. We love Uncle Dustin and thats all there is to say about that.

Celebrated Nate's FIRST birthday! July 4th themed, and so much fun! Nate, Seth, Pawpaw, and Elem.

Elem went to vacation bible school at his little school, and he loved it. There was lots of games for the kids to play and tons of bible stories where they got to do hands on crafts to go along with the story. It was so cute to hear him come home and talk about those.

More vacation bible school, sitting by Cecilia of course!

Swimming lessons with friends, thanks to Ms Callie :)! Swimming lessons were probably the best thing we could have done this summer for Elem. They were so much fun to watch, and after just 6 swimming lessons, it is safe to say our kid can swim on his own! Ms. Callie is GOOD! He still needs to be watched, but he can swim all over Grammy and Poppa's pool, from deep end to shallow end. It is amazing how quickly they learn. So glad we did this.

And more swimming. Big pool, little pool. It doesn't matter! I even got in the little pool in the back yard. Water is water. HA!

And without a doubt, plenty of water gun fights over the summer. Water guns were the only guns aloud in our home, since I have a huge dislike of them. But they made their way, when Elem got some HUGE ones for his birthday, and he just loved them!!! He is so serious about his water guns too. hehe.

It was just a great summer, and we are so thankful for our friends and family and that we got to have some fun, even though our lives are so hectic. :) We love the sun and love the water, so the summer is pretty much my favorite time of the year. I did get a little tired of the month long 110 temps, but we managed and just tried to play outside when we could! So long summer days and hello fall and football!

Salt Bowl 2011

2011-09-07T10:42:00.001-07:00

Every year, the inevitable Salt Bowl comes around where the Bryant Hornets and Benton Panthers play their HUGE rivalry game at War Memorial Stadium-which is where the HOGS play I might add! Elem went last year, but I think the whole game was a tad bit overwhelming for him, and this year it was just about boarder line! It is insane the number of people that attend these games, decked out in their school colors, and with some serious expectations by these high school boys to crank out some amazing football skills. Elem was super pumped to head to the big stadium, dress in his Bryant blue to support the Hornets, and see all the people in the stands cheering, etc. But more than anything he was ready to see some football action. He LOVES the game from the coin toss to the touchdowns, field goals, anything. And had a great time. He was on the midst of creeping into the land of sleepiness, when somehow out of over 30,000 people we saw little miss Sailor Grace with her family cheering on the Hornets. We headed over to make a quick trip and say hi! Sailor Grace is one of Elems good friends from school from last year who has since moved onto Kindergarden (as it seems all his friends have!).

Elem and Sailor Grace-look at that cheesy grin. haha. He was so excited to see her, and got all shy and red faced. hehe.

At least he knows how to pick em! She is gorgeous and so sweet. Ahh, so cute.

Well after seeing Sailor Grace, drinking some major caffeine, and playing a little football in the area where the players run out of the locker room, Elem was ready to watch the second half! I am happy to say the Hornets came through and won the game, as we knew they would! Hopefully one day, Elem will be playing on the same field, struttin' his stuff, and seeing the amazing community we live in cheer him on! Whew! Go Hornets Go!

Just another sports fanatic

2011-09-04T18:37:00.001-07:00

Did I ever mention this little boy is a sports FANATIC???

So, when did knowing all the football teams in the NFL and NCAA...uhm and their team mascots....uhhhh...and more player names than I know-become such a big deal? And when did learning all kinds of crazy high numbers from score boards kick into gear for this little man? Honestly, I have no idea how it has come to this, but at some point Elem has taken his love for the game and it has consumed his every being! He spits out facts, and scores, and team names and info like a regular ole football analyst you might see on College Game Day.

Ahhh, the joys of raising a little boy. I must admit, I love every bit of the sports fanatic he has come to be!

WHo doesnt love a good mouth piece, right?

School, work, school, work, school.

2011-08-31T10:39:00.001-07:00

I think that pretty much sums up my schedule. School and work. And no time for anything else, but maybe a few rounds of tackle football with Elem in the living room floor! ha! Nursing school is in full swing and I am already trying desperately to keep my head above water. My classes are awesome but so hard-I'm in OB, which I LOVE, but I despise the tests. They are so hard and detailed. My clinicals I love as well, but again long 12 hour shifts make for a tired mommy who greatly misses her fam while she is gone. I am trying to keep a balance and not get behind, because I know it is so easy to do, and I will never be able to get back ahead if I slack off. In addition to school, I also completed my training (after about 20 shifts it seems) and I am loving it already! Currently, I am a tech at Arkansas Children's Hospital, on the Hematology/Oncology Unit, which is where all the patients with cancer or blood disorders are admitted. I love love love this job, and have already seen a few patients who have "gotten their wings" in the short time I have been there. It is for sure a difficult area to work, but I love a great challenge and the kids are amazing! I have learned so much already, and am feeling more comfortable in the hospital/nursing environment than I was just a few short months ago. During a shift, I do vitals, urine dips, and other "nurse assistant" jobs I guess you could say. Nothing fancy, but Ill take it if it secures me a job with ACH, which is next to impossible to get! Just telling myself I gotta pay my dues and before I know it I will be graduated and working there as an RN! I am so excited and cant wait to get OB completed and move right along to PEDS. Just a few more weeks and I will be there. So, off to study now, and try to squeeze in some play time with Elem. Or some cuddling-I am game for both! (As elem would call it, "cuddle wuddle buddle momma'".

Our House

2011-08-01T16:04:00.001-07:00

Well with the summer coming to an end, that also means my time at Our House Shelter is nearing an end too! Since the creation of this blog I have tried not to post too much on Our House, to keep my blog more centered on my family, rather than work. But what I have neglected is actually my other family. My other family being all the kids and families I have had the honor to be a part of and watch grow over the last 4 1/2 years! It is with GREAT sadness and some serious anxiety that I say goodbye to the shelter. I began my journey as the Manager of Children's Programs for Our House with what I THOUGHT would be similar to that of a Child Care Director, for which I was prepared and excited. But my role developed into more of a meaningful, difficult, unorganized, and chaotic description than I could ever describe. In short-I have developed and implemented programs revolving around the kids both living at Our House and those participating in our programs birth-15 years of age. Even though there have been more long days than I would like to remember, more tears over stressful situations and sad endings to family crises, there have also been more hugs and smiles than I could have ever asked for, more deep and amazing relationships with families, and countless bonds with those who were seeking advice and direction from me, when I sometimes didn't know what to give back.

Not only have I been hugely impacted by Our House, but my family has also. Elem grew up in the Child Care-from 2 months old-until now. And he LOVES the place and would go there every day if he could. The experiences he has had there make me so proud of him, and of the open minded, loving, and non judgmental preschool he is today. He does not see color when choosing friends, he does not see status or kind of clothes worn, and most importantly he more than anything wants to be accepted BY them and feels comfortable at the shelter. I could not have asked for more of a blessing raising my child and having him with me at work every day for the first 3 years of his life. Some days were hard, and difficult to chose work over him, because he was always close by, but others allowed me to experience things right along with him, and I think it created a great bond that I am so thankful for!

I am tearful just writing this blog, thinking that I am not at work today with the kids. :( Our House fills a big piece of my heart, and even though I feel as if I am letting them down by not being there every day, I know that I am making a good strong choice for my own family, by taking some time to finish my last year of nursing school and get some experience in that field. It was such a hard decision to make the transition out of the shelter, but I am so glad I had the chance to do it over the last year, so I know things have been transferred over successfully! All in all, I have learned more about homelessness in general, the affect it has on our children and the burdens they have to carry every single day, while trying to grow up all at the same time! It is amazing how strong they are, and how much they can handle. It seriously blows my mind. All that being said, my chest physically hurts when I think about my not being there. I am somewhat in denial, and kind of feel like I am just on a vacation or something, and that I will just bounce back into the Our Club room and sit at my desk tomorrow. Sigh. I am so proud of the Children's Programs that are there and how much of an impact they have had on so many kids, I can't even explain it. And my goal is to just look at this whole transition phase of my life as a positive time for gaining experience in my new field, and a chance to give back by volunteering rather than working at the shelter. Its good for the soul!!! Here is the link to the shelter, if you want to take a look at where I have been all this time! Just click on the PROGRAMS tab and then CHILDRENS PROGRAMS so see all the fun!

http://ourhouseshelter.org/

Mrs. and I (yes that is her real name and it suits her so perfectly!) at the shelter-Perfect example of why I had the BEST job in the whole wide world! Free hugs all day long and endless love to go around!

One of my favorite pics of all time :)

Kyron, Elem, Shamaine, Isaiah, and Treshawn @ the zoo.

Nyronn, me, Zadie, and Ka'Shaun

Mariquarius, me, Dasmine, and Kyron @ graduation-which was fabulous I might add!

Jacovee and me-this is one of Elem's BFFs for the last couple of years (he and his twin brother!)

I love Our House and the kids that make up its clients/residents and hope I can still be a huge part of the programs continuing to provide experiences and opportunities for Elem to learn and grow from kids just like him, simply with a few extra hurdles in life. I will NEVER forget the kids who allowed me to step in and be a tiny piece of their picture, and am forever blessed and impacted more than words can explain.

Mommy and Elem

2011-07-29T17:47:00.001-07:00

Take 1:

Take 2:

This little man is still in this phase of HATING to have his picture taken! And it drives me crazy. Literally. I don't even know why I try, because he despises it so much. Oh well, he is just going to have to grow right out of it because I am going to just keep on taking pictures until I am old and gray. And one day he will thank me for it! Right?

We are sooo busy around here, and since I lost my camera, the pictures are hard to come by these days...making blogging take a back seat because I don't have a reference to remember what went on during the last couple of weeks! So far-lots of changes around out home-new school class for Elem, new semester for mommy, new job for mommy, flag football for Elem, and lots and lots of every day things that just seem to overwhelm me when trying to fit everything in. Once of these days I will find time to breathe-I just haven't made it there yet! Haven't had a lot of time for family and friends over the last few months and I hate it!!!But I just keep telling myself only a few more months until I graduate (9 to be exact) and then I will have plenty of time to spend with friends and family. :)

Batman!

2011-07-25T18:46:00.001-07:00

Things are crazy busy with my little family, more than I could ever catch up with on this blog! But we have still found a few moments to be silly and get in some good ole play time in the playtime in the playroom!

Batman on a mission to find me!

Even Batman stops to play with his pirate ship once in a while.

Sage still gets in on the action and runs with the best of them! Her and her snaggle tooth that is. :) hehe.

We are looking forward to some cooler temperatures around our neck of the woods. Anything in the 90s would be a nice break from the 105-115 temps we have been suffering thru!

Final TBall Tribute

2011-07-20T18:53:00.001-07:00

Towards the end of May, Elem had his T-Ball party to celebrate the T-Ball season.

I cant believe that the season is over, but I am happy to report that we ended the year with a bang! And Elem was more than excited to know a trophy was headed his way! haha. I mean isn't that what the entire season is all about when you are 4 years old??? ;) Once again I proved to be a little bit of the "over the top team mom", but I didn't even care. There wasn't a plan to have a team party or celebration or anything and knowing that my little man wanted a trophy more than anything was all I needed to make sure one got planned. So after the final game, we planned to meet up at Larry's Pizza the following night. Here are a couple of pics from the final T-Ball game of the 2011 season!

Getting ready for the game, Elem sippin' on some last minute sonic drink to get him ready to go!

Last game position-pitcher! Yay! Elem's favorite position by far. Giving us the thumbs up that he is ready to go and catch some balls!!!!

And.He's. Got one! Go E. Throw to first-throw to first.

He loves catching and playing in the field, but loves to run those bases more than anything else!

Go BlueJays Go!

I think my most favorite part of the entire season, was the look on Elem's face when we were at the T-Ball party and Coach Brandon said that everyone who was there had played good enough to get a trophy and he was about to call their names out. Elem's reaction=a big serious and very intense, " Yes! " in a deep growling almost face if you can imagine. hahaha. So typical of Elem, he was serious about being good enough to have earned a trophy. See his face below for image of the moment I am referring to.

Elem Zane Shelby getting his very first trophy ever. So proud of you Elem! Way to go!!

Coach Brandon and Elem showing off their awards.

What a great season, and what fun we have in our future if Elem continues to do this thing called baseball! We loved everything about it, we really did, and playing really helped Elem open up to being around boys that were his own age and that he didnt know from school. They were very rough and tough and he really hung in there even though he was the youngest on the team. I am so proud of him for really trying hard and not giving up. And for having a good attitude! Way to go Elem, we love you and hope to see more baseball games in the future!!

friendship

2011-07-12T05:50:00.001-07:00

Need I say more? This picture absolutely brings joy to my heart.

Elem and Jamal on the way home from a day at Wild River Country with the kids from the shelter. They both fell asleep mid drink and food. Elem loves Jamal, and I love that Jamal is sleeping on Elem's shoulder. They both have such a pure heart and I couldn't imagine 2 better friends. I love both of these boys.

My legs hurt.

2011-07-10T13:31:00.001-07:00

This is Elem's newest catch phrase. Used of course when he is being asked to go take a bath, go clean up some toys, get dressed, or basically do anything he does not have planned on HIS agenda to do. Haha. It is quite funny to see him playing the Wii bouncing around, and quickly shift into full blown "crippledness" and "tears" as he slowly crawls on the floor to the undesired destination. Oh the joys of being a parent of a preschooler. :) As frustrating as it is to encourage/ command him to do as I say, it is almost impossible to hold back the smiles when I hear those all too familiar words, "but mommy, my legs hurt, I cant do it."

Unfortunately that smiling face, gets away with a lot around here. tsk tsk. What to do what to do?

Spin baby spin.

2011-07-07T05:34:00.001-07:00

This is my little DJ.

Loves to scratch some records just like his daddy.

Rockin' out to some funky beats I'm sure.

"I like that dirty base momma, do you?" -elem

Oh yeah...there it is. Music=happiness.

Happy Belated Anniversary to us!

2011-06-20T16:49:00.001-07:00

On May 30th Seth and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary :) With everything that was going on with work and school, we just decided to spend the day doing what we love most! Which is swimming and spending time by the pool with family. One of these anniversaries we will do something extra special and extravagant, but for now-I am just fine soaking up some sun, listening to music, and grilling out!

Not the best pic, but at least it shows off Seth's newest hairstyle. Tsk tsk tsk. I'm not a huge fan, but whatever! haha.

Me and the little man...who walked me down the aisle just 3 years ago...

trip down memory lane...sweetness:

Cecilia, Ali, and Elem chillin' by the pool

Elem giving Nate a little push in the swing.

Elem, Me, and Cecilia

The day was seriously spent eating, swimming, and relaxing, and we wouldn't have had it any other way! Seth and I are so lucky to have such an amazing little family, and to think it all started just by our meeting at the Flying Saucer oh about 9 years ago where I waited on Seth and assisted him with his beverages of choice. haha. So thank you Flying Saucer for bringing the most special man into my life! And a very happy 3rd anniversary to us!

Busy Busy Summer

2011-06-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

I thought when school ended, and the summer started, I would have plenty of time to spend in the pool and relax ! Ha! I don't know what I was thinking....We have been busier than ever, and the summer is slipping away faster than I can believe! School ended, and full time work at the shelter started, Elem is still in school 5 days a week and doing wonderfully in his class, and Seth has made a few work trips out of town already! And I started a Zero Base job as a PCT on Hem/Onc at Children's Hospital, which I LOVE! But throw in field trips, snack days and water play days at Elem's school, a few colds here and there, training for the new job, lots of birthday parties, snow cones, fireworks, father's day, losing my camera on our "stay-cation", boat trips to the lake, swimming at grammy and poppas, our anniversary, swimming lessons with friends, and a couple of movie nights, and you can see how my days are filling up so quickly! It is all worth it to spend more time with my family, but I am smooth worn out and cant seem to get caught up on sleep. Oh summer why must you go so quickly??!!! Elem is having a blast and is soaking up the sun like a mad man! haha. Seth and I are quite jealous of the tan he is acquiring with his SPF 50 and what not. And he is proving to love being outdoors despite the heat just like his mommy and daddy. I think our favorite part of the summer so far is going to the lake with Uncle Dustin and Aunt Ali on their boat, and more specifically Elem driving the boat. He loves the entire trip, and falls asleep sitting up cruising every time. I am so thankful for my family and all the fun we are having this summer. Just wish I could freeze time for a couple of days to make it last a little longer-but I'd probably just spend my time sleeping -so I guess I ll take what I can get.

Oh Happy Summer Days-you are my favorite time of year!

Happy 30th Birthday Uncle Dustin!

2011-06-04T12:29:00.001-07:00

Uncle Dustin finally turned the big 3-0 this year and Ali did not disappoint with the party! We had so much fun eating lots of good food, spending time with friends, and sliding down the giant bouncy slide-all in honor of our Uncle Dustin. :) The weather was perfect-well a little hot, but it was beautiful and the kids were great! We love you Dustin, thanks for being such a great Uncle. Hope your birthday was super special!!

The Birthday boy and Ali.

Seth and Me.

Emily, Ali, Me.

Glenn and Dustin.

Me and Cecilia.

Seth, Elem, and Rowyn after a trip down the slide!

Popsicles, BFFs, and Sunshine!

2011-05-26T18:36:00.001-07:00

Nothing better on a hot day than enjoying some sunshine with your BFF, and eating popsicles !

We love love love popsicles around here, and I'm not sure why, but it is my go to solution when the sunshine is just too hot too handle and the little ones are trying their best to beat the heat!!!

Elem enjoying his favorite popsicle-blue of course!

Cecilia chomping on a purple one-her favorite.

I know they are basically sugar and water, but popsicles work wonders around this house, and can pacify some hot and worn out 4 year olds who need a boost! Thank goodness for popsicles!

Elem's 3 year old preschool graduation

2011-05-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Elem and Cecilia have been going to Geyer Springs First Baptist Preschool since August 2010, and preschool graduation was last week! Elem goes to school 5 days a week, while Cecilia goes MWF, and stays with Ali the other 2 days! I wish I could work that out with my schedule but it just hasn't been possible! Luckily Elem and Cecilia have been in the same 3 year old class all year, with their teacher Ms. Tracie, and it made for a smooth transition to start the school year, and provided a great level of comfort for both of them! Here is Elem's class on graduation day!

Back row-Ms. Tracie, Brooke, Ethan, Cecilia, Aubrey, Sadie, Elem, Hannah

Front row-Quinlyn, Colt, Luke, Cayden

Over the last year, Elem has really learned a lot from his little school. I know I have mentioned before that I had my doubts, but the staff and the kids are really great! I don't think any teacher or group of kids could ever live up to the expectations I have as an educator, so considering I don't have anything negative to say is a major plus! Elem has grown in so many ways, sociallly-he is so much more accepting of playing with other kids, and although he knows who he wants to play with, he is never mean to other kids at school. Behaviorally- he very rarely goes to time out and listens to his teachers well. (this is not always the case at home! but we are talking about school, so I will leave it at that! haha). Educationally-he has improved greatly in his artistic ability and creativity when it comes to art work. He goes in phases of drawing lots of people, to phases of lots of sports, to rocket ships, etc. He writes his name as good as to be expected, and just yesterday he counted to 110!!!!! I was shocked, but so proud! Spiritually-he rattles of so many things at random times about Jesus or other characters from the bible, and I am so proud of him for retaining all of that info that is really hard to grasp! He is not super into prayers, and only every once in a while will I catch him singing a bible song from school. But he does LOVE bible verses and loves sharing that he knows them.

Elem and his friends during the graduation ceremony

Elem and Cecilia after the ceremony. This is pretty typical of personalities-Cecilia is giggling and being pretty and prissy and Elem is shoeless, and talking -half way covering up his face because he knows I want a picture! haha. Oh well-We are so proud of you Elem and Cecilia, way to go! Now onto the big kid 4 year old class!!

Cecilia and Grammy :)

I cant believe the whole year went by so fast and in August Elem will be moving up to the 4 year old class! So many of his little friends were from the 4 year old class this year, and I know he is so sad to see them leave and move onto kindergarten, but I am positive he will make lots of new friends. Elem, we cant wait to see all of the great things you will learn at school this year, and all the new friends you will find! Keep on being such a good boy, and know that mommy and daddy love you so much! Happy graduation day!

Here is a little video of Elem and Cecilia getting their graduation certificates from Miss Tracie. They are so proud. I love it. So sweet I could just keep them at this phase forever!!!! Well-minus the back talking and mood swings. hehe.

Surprise Elem.....somebody wants to tell you happy birthday

2011-05-13T10:38:00.001-07:00

On Elem's birthday, Seth was tweeting to DJ Williams and some other football players, of the Arkansas Razorback football team! And much to our surprise, Elem got a very special and shocking phone call just a few minutes later, to wish him an extra special birthday wish on his special day.

Elem wasn't quite sure what to do, and as you can tell, Seth is almost more excited to talk to the football players than Elem is. :)

Party Time

2011-05-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

(***Whistle blow**)TIME OUT PEOPLE!!! Its Birthday Party Time!!

With my nursing school semester coming to an end, the summer program for the shelter ramping up, a new part time job in the works (ill fill in on that one later), mother's day approaching, seth in and out of town for work, and T-Ball games in full swing, the month of May was busy-to say the least. But thankfully, I knew this was going to be a tough month, and I planned early-way early-for Elem's birthday. I actually had everything done in March, which is a little ridiculous I know, but when you are a busy woman, you gotta plan ahead! I debated on what to do for Elem's birthday since it was going to be one I knew he would actually remember and participate in, and I came to the conclusion that I was going to let him choose the place and who he wanted there. Until this point, I have had his birthdays at my house, because I wanted him to be able to have as many people as he wanted, and I wanted to have activities he would like and what not. But like I said this year was different. He has friends, he knows who he wants to be around, and he knows what sort of activities he likes to do, and I wanted this birthday to be FOR him, and not for me or seth or our families. So back in March I took Elem around and he checked out a few places. As soon as we walked in the door at the Little Rock Athletic CLub-and he saw the HUGE maize of tubes and basketball goal area he and his little friends would be partying on, he was SOLD. From that point on, I pretty much knew his party was going to be something sports themed, but I just didn't know what! After some serious work, I ordered the invites and we decided to have an "MVP" party, where all the kids could wear their favorite team jersey, shirt, or colors, and Elem chose to have a Football Cake-that he was beyond excited about. I brought home a paper with all the names of all the kids in his school, and we went through the list and he picked who he wanted to invite. This was so much fun, because it really showed me who he liked, and who he wasn't sure about, and who he for sure did not want coming. Haha. We didn't invite anyone that Elem didn't name specifically, and he chose all his non school friends on his own as well. So that was something different and fun that we haven't done before.

Elem was so excited when he saw the invites! (he was just happy to see himself in a football uniform haha) but I thought they turned out great!

Once we sent out the invites, we just planned to be there on time, an honestly the athletic club pretty much did everything else. And boy was I thankful! Nothing like trying to throw your little one a special party right in the middle of exams! Whew!

Mommy, Daddy, and Elem-we went all out and all wore a D. Wayde Jersey to support the Miami HEAT -by Elem's choice of course.

As soon as we got there, he was off and did not stop until we begged him to leave.

Still going.....

We are so happy his best friend in the whole wide world came. Elem and Grayson :)

Cecilia and Sailor Grace-pretty girlies.

Nate kickin it in the gym, decked out in his baseball team attire!

Uncle Spoon and Elem (jerseys were super cool, I must say!)

Elem and Lacie (his little girlfriend from school) ......I will post on the girl love elem receives at school on another day.

Da, da, da, daaaaaa-Football Feild cake, just exactly the way he wanted it.

Who is ready to eat some cake??

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Elem, Happy Birthday to you!

After cake, presents of course! I love how all the kids crowd around at this age, and are so excited to see every single present. It is too cute! Elem racked up too I might add! Thanks to all his awesome little friends (and their extra generous parents)

Elem's birthday card from Grace-uhm and that would be Grace and Elem kissing, per Grace's mom)...hmmm not sure how I feel about this one.

After presents and cake, there was still much more playing, and lots of sweating, haha, and then we finally headed home! Elem and Aubrey playing basketball!

Overall it was such a great day! And I was just so thankful to all of Elem's sweet little friends for coming out and showing all their love to my sweet 4 year old. The day was so stress free, I didn't have to plan anything or worry about stuff showing up and being ready, no mess or cleaning up for me, and no trying to ask people to leave to go home at the end of the day! Just a perfect place for a party, and I honestly think we might have to go there again next year! I still cant believe Elem is 4 years old, it just doesn't seem like time can go by so fast, but it does. I wish there was a way to freeze time and just keep him little forever, but I know I cant. He is literally growing up right before my eyes, and becoming such a little independent person, with ideas and feelings all his own. I could not ask for a sweeter, kinder, more adorable little boy, and I hope to look back and remember such special moments like his 4th birthday as crystal clear as I do right now!

Elem Zane is 4 Years Old!

2011-05-08T08:27:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to me sweet Elem. You are 4 years old and I cant believe how fast you are growing up!

At 4 years old you have grown up to be so many things! You are:

Independent (very able to do what you need to get done when you want it done! Sometimes a little too independent!)

Silly, silly, silly (always telling jokes, loves to giggle, and make people laugh)

Smart (always asking why and thinking deeper about an answer I might give you)

Good friend (kind to others and thinks about others)

Athletic (you have better hand eye coordination than we could have ever thought possible-:) You love all sports)

Music lover (enjoys every single kind of music, and dances until you drop! Always bouncing your head to a beat, trying to play the drums and guitar-air guitar is one of your favorites! And knows the words to more songs than I do)

Hardworker/Competitive (always wanting to succeed in everything you do, from playing a basketball game to pouring a cup of milk, you will be a winner no matter what! And you will take nothing less.

Mommy's boy (loves his mommy (and daddy too of course) and loves to snuggle when you are tired. Loves being tickled and being held-even though you are right around 45 lbs. Clingy when you need to be, and has me wrapped around your little finger.

Talkative (never stops talking unless asleep. and we will leave it at that!)

Elem, mommy and daddy are so proud of you and who you are at 4 years old! You are always wanting to be more grown up than you are, and sometimes we treat you like you are already there! But you are our sweet little man, so loving to others and genuine. Your smile lights up a room, and your determination to be the best makes you so special! Thank you for being YOU! And don't ever forget that we love you and how happy you make us. Happy 4th Birthday!

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-05-02T13:52:00.001-07:00

We have been doing a LOT of yard work lately, just taking care of the flower beds, our little vegetable garden in the back, and trying to keep our grass looking good! And I must say it is truly a family affair. Typically, Seth does the grass (I dont even try to do it), and I do the weeds and trimming of the flower garden in the front. And we all water, and take care of the rest of the duties. Elem has been so helpful this year and so excited to be a part of the process of keeping all our greenery looking good and in shape.

He loves to water the flowers and the veggies in the back. I was shocked to find out that this year he can pull the hose off the caddy and turn it on and off at the faucet. This is a little surprising to me because I still have problems getting that hose off of the caddy without tangling it up from time to time. HAHa. Not to mention turning the water on and off. That is hard work sometimes! I can name at least 5 days out of 7 where I find myself wanting to curse the whole precess because I cant get the hose long enough. lol.

For as long as I can remember, he has also been obsessed with big tools/items/electronics that we use around the house like the vacuum, weed eater, blower, and for the longest -the lawn mower! If there is even mention of Seth working on the yard and mowing the grass, he is all over it. He wants to be front line in all the action! And he takes it to a whole new level of trying to mimic his daddy with these tools. We will turn around and he will have the weed eater out in the yard (which is pretty heavy I might add), waving it back and forth around some weeds, working on it and trying to "fix it up" haha. It is so funny. The other day Seth was moving and I captured my proud Daddy's Little Helper working in the yard, putting his ipod in his pocket and ear buds in, with who knows what kind of fabulous music, while he rocked out and mowed that yard!

He is just so serious. But hopefully this little love for the lawn mower and weed eater will come in handy in about 10 years. !!!

Easter Sunday 2011

2011-04-26T17:46:00.001-07:00

Our family Easter Sunday :) My sweet little boy is almost 4 years old here! I cannot believe how fast time flies and how big he has gotten. So tall and handsome, and such a sweet little boy. I am so so thankful for my family!

We are lucky that Elem does not wake up early. usually he is the last one to get out of bed, sometimes rolling out of his bed at like 9am! Which is crazy. He loves his sleep just like his mommy!! So, this is a good capture of his morning attitude-even while checking out his stash from the Easter Bunny. haha. The Easter Bunny brought him a CARS sleeping bag and some big boy cups (we are trying to exit the sippy cup phase for good!).

This is more like it. ALl dressed and ready for church. Loving on his "sweet bo bo bear" as he likes to call her. :) Sage and Elem are still BFF although it is obvious she is old and annoyed at times. She still puts up with all his loving and hugs and lets him have his way with her for the most part. He LOVES him some sage. And is happy to share his brand new sleeping bag with her on Easter morning.

Cecilia all dressed up in her pretty dress :) My sweet little girly girl. I love her.

After church we headed over to Aunt Nancy's for an Easter/Pawpaw's Birthday Celebration.

Here are the kids helping to sing happy birthday to their pawpaw. It is amazing how all the grandkids and great grandkids love their pawpaw. He is such a wonderful man, and we are all so thankful for him! This is Seth's mom's dad, and the most popular member of the family with the kids!

Daddy and Elem being silly.

The kids playing in the game room. Every holiday/lunch/birthday celebration that is at Nancy's house -this is where the kids end up. Although the pool sticks are a little dangerous, they are still a hot ticket item in this house! Elem Cecilia and Isla Pearl running around keeping themselves busy.

And of course, Elem taking care of little Nate. This is a typical picture of how we find Elem with Nate. Just touching him and giving him hugs and kisses and lots of love. He is super ready for a baby, but mommy and daddy are NOT!! haha.

This was such a great day, relaxing, and wonderful time spent with family. What I even loved most about this Easter was just how much Elem retained from school about the real reason we celebrate Easter. We talked about it and he told me:

"that Easter is all about Jesus and how he is still alive. And that after Jesus was on the big cross, they put him in a cave, but he didnt die. And he rolled and rolled that big stone rock our of the door and he got out!".

I could not be prouder of my little man. I think that is pretty close and to the point if I do say so myself!

Easter Egg Huntin' Time!

2011-04-25T09:45:00.001-07:00

Who doesnt love a good Easter Egg Hunt?? ELem was lucky enough to hit up a couple of Egg Hunts this year and I must say, he was a super serious egg hunter! We started the Easter Celebration with dying some Easter Eggs with Cecilia at her house, having a fun party day at school filled with an indoor easter egg hunt (due to rainy weather), and my mom coming in town to celebrate with us the day before Easter!

We headed to Mills Park for a morning egg hunt, and found that lots of our family, neighbors and friends were there. Which made it lots more fun! Elem and Memaw before the big hunt!

We even stopped by to see the Easter Bunny and took a group shot with the neighbors. Elem LOVES LOVES LOVES the Easter Bunny this year. Did I mention he LOVES him??? He was so intrigued by him, talking to him like they were best friends, starring at him from far away, and giving him lots of hugs. I thought he would actually be kind of scared of him, but that was just the complete opposite. He was all about that Easter Bunny, and could not wait for him to hop on over to our house the next day! I wish I had a video of him talking to the bunny, because it was so sweet. He told him that he loved him, and when the Easter Bunny gave him a blue Easter Egg with candy inside, Elem thought it was a sign of something amazing-since blue is his favorite color! hehe. I love it!

Time to hunt some eggs!

Once he got started, he was side tracked, overlooking TONS of eggs and searching for only the ones with some sort of shade of blue. Very Elem. He knows what he wants and he doesnt usually compromise for anything less than that!

Uncle SPoon and Rowyn were there for the egg hunt fun!

My mom and me taking a break on the sidelines while the kids jumped on the bounce houses.

Elem proud of all his eggs and showing them to his favorte little baby in the whole wide world, Baby Nate. :) Nate is always up for a picture. Elem was all about giving Nate some love and sharing his eggs!

It was such a great day, and the weather was perfect for a morning of outside fun. This was a great way to spend the weekend and got Elem really excited about being good and getting ready for the Easter Bunny that night!

Batter Up!

2011-04-21T17:02:00.001-07:00

Some videos documenting Elem's first ever batting experience in TBall:

And the ever so popular-slide into home plate:

Such a big moment for Elem Zane!

This thing called T-Ball

2011-04-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Oh. My. Word. Who knew serious sports started at age 3??? Well, if you live in Bryant AR, home of Cliff Lee, pitcher for the Texas Rangers in the 2010 World Series, then you don't mess around and you take it seriously even starting with T-Ball. I know it is a little young, but I really wanted Elem to be able to play some sort of sport this season, because he LOVES sports, has tons of energy, is plenty coordinated, and honestly needed to be a part of a team or something to help with him "all I do is win" attitude. Haha. So, I barely made the cut off to sign up for the registration for T Ball back in January! I headed over, and was shocked at the line leading out the door of the gymnasium full of parents signing up their kids for baseball and softball. When I told the guy how old my son was, and he asked me if he was TRYING OUT, I almost turned around and walked out the door. I seriously thought if they are worried about how well my kid plays T-Ball then I don't know if I want him to play! But I went through with it, and he finally got started with his team in the middle of March.

Elem was SO excited, I can't even begin to explain how happy he was when he got his own bat, ball, glove, helmet, jersey, and everything else baseball related that a little tiny 3 year old might need on the field! It was priceless. And I have been so thankful we signed up for it ever since! Elem ended up playing on a team with all children who had never played before, which was great because it put them all in the same boat as far as knowing what to do, who to listen to, etc! Which also includes a whole lot of interest in the dirt between bases, but oh well! There are about 10-12 little boys on his team, all ages 4-5, but 2 of the kids. Even though Elem is the youngest player on his team, he is seriously one of the biggest. Which is another reason I really wanted him to play-he is literally the size of a kindergardener, and is beyond playing with his fellow 3 year old classmates. He just isn't feeling that.

His team is sponsored by First Southern Baptist Church, and his team colors are light blue and white. Due to the length of the name of the church, Elem was pretty upset and really wanted a good team name he could say, so Seth threw out that he was on the bluejays, and we have stuck with that ever since! We ended up getting a great coach, it is his first year coaching, and he is a physical therapist, in school to be an ER doc, and played baseball at UCA for several years. Very sweet guy, who is actually pretty quiet, and genuinely wants the boys to have fun, znd just enjoy the experience while learning some of the basics. As far as his number, I got a call to pick one during the day while Elem was at school, so I was kind of in a bind-I actually texted his teacher and she asked him what number he preferred. LOL He chose number 5, but someone already had scooped it up, so I went with 6 because it was close. And he loves it. I really think he would love any number, and just knowing its on the back of his jersey with his name is enough to make him grin from ear to ear.

As soon as Elem got his jersey, he put it on and was standing in front of the mirror looking at himself and smiling. Haha. It was so cute. And he was trying to turn half way around backwards to see the name and the number and still see what he looked like. I loved it. It was adorable.

So, first game was not a hug success for us because it was about...oh maybe 40 degrees outside, and pouring down rain, and he was miserable. So my sweet little man started crying on the field and said his hands were burning. :( So I wrapped him up in a blanket and let him warm up in the dug out, while Seth was having a mini panic attack, because he thought Elem was going to loose his position. hahaha. Yes, that was a serious statement. Luckily when it got time to bat, Elem threw on his helmet and ran up to his coach at the home plate and took a swing. I thought there was going to be a major meltdown when his first swing spun him all the way around and he dd a full 360 landing on his knees in the mud. He stood up though, like a big boy, looked at the dirt all over him (which he HATES to get dirty like that) and took a second swing! He hit it so far and took off running. Mommy was so proud. My little T Ball star. Ever since it has been uphill, and he has enjoyed every practice and every game! We have had much better weather, and he has even made a couple of little friends, although I do see him giving some snide looks sometimes when the boys are goofing off because he really just wants to play ball! It is quite funny. He started at short stop for the first couple of games, and then his coach decided to rotate all the players to let them each get to play every position. Last week he played at the pitcher position and he loved it. With both positions he has gotten to see a lot of action which is a good thing, because I think if he was out in the outfield he might not be so inclined to stay in the game and would probably head off into the stands.

Elem is really actually very good, of course I would say that even if he wasnt, and has really impressed Seth and I with how mature he has been about the whole thing! I really expected to look out and see him off playing in the dirt at least once or twice every game and practice, but honestly he is really focused and there to play. On top of all the fun he is having and serious skills he is learning, just learning to be part of something-part of a real team, is really making a huge impact on him, and I am sooo thankful he is loving it! We seriously LOVE going to his practices and games, and just watching him learn all kinds of stuff. It is actually a little bit hard, watching him out on the field with his little teammates and seeing him make all these little decisions for himself, like when to go for the ball, when to run, who to throw it to, etc. Because it seems like he should still be needing me for all those things! haha. Very weird-my little man is growing up. For major picture overload see below:

Daddy helping Elem get ready to play in the field.

Short stop-E.

Gooo BlueJays!

Gibson, Elem, and Sam cheering on their teammates while they wait for their turn to bat!

Daddy hanging with Elem while he is "on deck".

Batting like a little champion. (this pic is actually from last week's game)

And he is off!

Daddy rounding Elem through 3rd base. Hehe.

Getting ready to give high 5s to the other team (this is so adorable to watch it is insane)

Me and my TBall stud! Mommy is so proud of you Elem.

So much fun, and sooo glad we decided to play this year! Elem is still having a blast and is so proud of himself when he does good. It makes me smile just thinking about how much fun he has out there!

Catch Phrases

2011-04-16T13:59:00.001-07:00

Today Elem was asking for something and he ended up not getting his way, and he responded with....

"You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit." hahaha

Whats so funny about that to me is that I have never in my life said that to him. When I asked him where he heard that, he said his friend Sailor Grace's mom told her that. Haha, and apparently, she in turn has told everyone else that. Too funny.

Sure do love you little man.

What I want to do-

2011-04-11T11:09:00.001-07:00

Is relax and put my feet up!

....for an extended amount of time. Without interuption. And without a book in my lap that weighs 19lbs. School is drawing to an end and just in time for everything to be gearing up at the shelter. I am soooo in need of a massive break-or vacation-or something! My brain is about to explode with so much nursing knowledge I just dont know how there is room for anything else in there. sigh*

Family Sandwich

2011-04-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

Thats what this would be:

Per Elem, a Family Sandwich. Did I mention that Elem is super hyper at night and LOVES to get all wired up right about time when most people's kids are already tucked in bed and fast asleep. I am not quite sure how we got into this crazy rut of one wild and unscheduled bedtime routine, but it is upon us! And as much as I do not approve of the late night indoor basketball or football games that go on inside my living room, when it should be wind down time, I do love me some family sandwiches. Haha! They are usually the end stage of a major wrestling event between Seth and Elem, or some fierce tickling time between me and E. I still love em, though! I'm happy with my position being the meat in the middle, much better than the bread on the bottom (poor daddy!). And of course, Elem gets the best part-the running and jumping off of the chair/grabbing hold of mommy around her neck/ and bouncing and giggling because he is having so much fun part on the top. Ahhhhh. Who doesn't love a family sandwich.

-note, Elem requested that Sage be added to the family sandwhich, and I THINK she might have even made it on once, but for now she sits and watches. Probably thankful she isn't in the mix!

Sweet words.

2011-04-03T07:41:00.001-07:00

Last night Elem and I were snuggled up on the couch about to go lay down in his bed, blanket and sippy cup in hand, when he very clearly looked at me and calmly said,

"Jesus died on a cross"

I looked at him, and said yes, you are right, he did die on a cross. And asked him if he remembered who Jesus died for on the cross, and he had the sweetest little response,

"He died on that cross for us momma. Because he loved us."

He smiled and simply looked away. I love moments like that, when I don't really think he is old enough to understand stuff, or when I don't think he knows things, but he blows me away with how much he really knows in that sweet adorable precious little head of his!

Tee-Ball Season is HERE!

2011-03-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

And he's off! Its official, our very first tee ball season is here and is so much fun!

More posts and more pics than anyone besides me would ever want to see! So far, after a slightly rough first game rainy day blues, Elem loves it! Position: short stop. Number: #6. Team Name: Indian Springs First Baptist Church....other wise known to Elem as -The BlueJays. (because he cant say the other words fast enough-so we self picked the blue jays)

The girls, wont like it like this!

2011-03-16T16:43:00.001-07:00

After Elem's bath the other night, he had already brushed teeth, and we were getting ready to brush his hair, and get ready for bed. In the middle of me trying to "frame up his hair" and form it into his "faux hawk" he quickly grabbed the brush for me and said,

"Mom, let me do it! The girls wont like it like that!!!"

to which he began brushing his hair directly forward and flat on his head! And said,

"Don't do that mom, they like it like this."

With a MOST serious face. hehehehehe.

Lets feed some birds.

2011-03-08T12:39:00.001-08:00

We decided to find something a little different to do while we enjoyed some sunshine the other day! So we stopped by and scooped up a "paint your own" birdfeeder and I let Elem pic out his very own bird food at Pteco! haha. He was beyond thrilled as he pushed his own little buggy around the store looking for the one that appealed most to him. He ended up choosing the heaviest bag possible, but we got it and spent a good part of the morning painting the perfect bird feeder.

He was so diligent. He seriously did not stop until the entire thing was painted and ready to be hung.

We dont actually have any trees in our yard but this one that Seth planted the year we moved in. Which is fine with us because that leaves more room playing outside! So it was slim pickings as far as where he was going to hang the bird feeder. But it turned out just perfect and he has had so much fun filling it up almost every single day himself! And looking outside to see if a bird is eating up his food. Adorable. SUch a fun thing to do with a preschooler. Taddaaaa:

A look back on February

2011-03-03T06:50:00.001-08:00

February flew bye, and in the midst of wrapping up with one 7 week course of mental health in school, I started a new one the very next day-Adult II. So, no time for playing around or relaxing, but I did want to include a few pics as a look back on the month of February to remember a couple of things we were doing and people we spent time with.

First Up: My sweet sweet niece Cecilia Rebecca Kate turned 4 years old on February 7th! And somehow in the midst of all the snow and crazy weather, the sun came out just long enough for her horse back riding bday party. It was so much fun, and we just could not be more proud of sissy and the little preschooler she is becoming! She is one girly girl if I have ever seen one-loving her a fabulous outfit and hairbow, toenails and fingernails always painted, and is not one for sweating. Need I say more. My pretty little princess about to blow out her candles!

Elem all dressed up to giddy up and go for C's bday!

Grammy and E.

Lots of silly play time with BFF Rowyn-Uncle Spoons little boy. We love for Rowyn to come over when he is in town and try to get as much playtime in as we possibly can. Elem sure loves him some Rowyn, and he doesn't mind being able to boss him around a little bit too. Haha.

Every now and then we were able to take advantage of the sun and squeeze in some bike rides. We LOVE to ride bikes, but usually get stopped after about 5 minutes because we end up riding past Cecilia's house and "having" to stop. haha. Oh well, at least he knows his way around the neighborhood in case he ever got lost.

We made a trip to Memphis for my sister's big birthday! she is the big 3-0! Wahoo, now I dont feel so alone-except that means I am only a couple of months away from being 31. Yikes! But at least I got to spend some quality time with my sweet little red headed nephew Wyatt. :) COuld he be any cute? Yes, Becky had him scooping up rocks and mud from the pond and he was just as happy as he could be. She is such a great mom and has one amazing little boy who is so loving and sweet. Sometimes I wish Elem would take note when he is in one of his most fantastic talking back modes. I can only dream.

Working on some fishing skills with Memaw at Shelby Farms. We had so much fun, and as always the trip went by so fast! Not that we caught any fish, but Elem did have a blast learning how to cast the line with some help from Uncle Vincent! Ill have to post that video soon. He had so much fun! Cant you tell?

A month would not be complete without a little horse back riding jockey style! We watched that movie Secretariat, which is amazing and so wonderful, and Elem LOVED every second of it. I walked into the living room one day and this was his getup: goggles, a hat, the couch as his horse, and he has a light up stick over there somewhere that he was slapping the horse with, and that jump rope was the reins. But he obviously ditched those to go full speed!. hahahahaha. I could not stop laughing.

Playtime in the backyard with the little man. My other sweet nephew Baby Nate, who is ever so quickly becoming not so baby! He already has like 6 teeth and is pulling up and crawling all over the place. And he is only 9 months old. He is the best baby, and simply smiles and giggles all the time. Sweet sweet smile.

So it was a great month, that went by so quickly I feel as if I didnt even see it going by! And now March has done the same thing. Whew. Before I know it it will be May and both ELem and I will be celebrating a birthday. Everyone is getting old!

"I aint sayin she's a gold digger"

2011-02-28T14:49:00.001-08:00

He loves his music, what can I say. He loves to dance, bounce, rock with it, break it down-whatever it is you might call it. He is actually somewhat reserved at times throughout this video, but in general, this is pretty standard with any song he is listening to. He likes bass beats, a good tempo, and hip hop seems to be his preference, so we try to stick with the clean versions of whatever we can find. He is musically cultured (thats what Seth and I like to call it) haha, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Conflicting styles.

2011-02-25T04:39:00.001-08:00

Uhm, so who knew fashion would be such a difficult thing/ conflict with a mommy and her 3 year (almost 4 year) old little boy?? Isn't there some "right of passage" where I have the ultimate final say in what gets to be worn, and if you pick it out of the clothes that I have bought for you, then you will just be thankful that you got to pick them out for the day and be happy?? Well, if there isn't there should be! Seriously, getting dressed each day is one of the BIGGEST challenges I am having with Elem. There are so many issues I just dont even know where to begin. So I am going to try to capture them in a few bullet points.

Elem's sense of style likes and dislikes:

In general-he does not like to get dressed-this is at least a 20 minute ordeal-sometimes longer, which makes for many mornings where we are running late.

Only likes Nike shoes -and only likes to wear one pair of shoes for an extended amount of time....meaning that I may buy him lots of pairs of shoes, but he only wants to wear the same pair every single day, with every single outfit, whether they match or not.

Does not like blue jeans-this one is very difficult! Especially when I buy him all these adorable little skinny jeans that he looks so cute in!

Wants to wear "comfy pants" to school every day (and everywhere for that matter)-again, promblematic. Comfy pants meaning sports pants, loose fitting, no button or snap. I dont like it-enough said.

He only likes pants with no buttons or snaps. Uhm, this would mean elastic waist only. Yeah-not gonna happen.

Likes his shoe laces to be "tied small" and equal between right and left shoe! Thats right-meaning, he likes the little bow to be small, which is usually accomplished with a double knot, and that they look the same when looking at them from his view point! seriously. This takes several ties every single time we put them on.

Likes t-shirt style shirts-no collar. -this one I can give him, but there are only so many cool hurley (nice looking) t-shirts out there. Collared shirts are so easy to find. When put on, he simply chews on the collar that is right by his neck, the entire day which means there is a nice saliva stained wet collar for the whole world to see while he is out walking around.

Again, likes t-shirt styles-no button downs. Ugh. I dont really have a shot with this one, because he just rips them off and throws the shirt on the floor. No button downs for Elem. They don't feel "comfy" enough he says.

Does not like to have ANYTHING put in or on his hair-If you recall, he has wild man hair, that does its own thing, and needs some taming several times a day. Getting gel in his hair (which makes it look SOOO cute I might add) is seriously a mini fight waiting to happen. I try to let him do it, he wont. Let me do it, he wont. Sneak it in, I usually get popped. Which means a buzz cut could be the answer-but I refuse to do so.

Hates tags or lining inside of clothes-I totally understand this one-I really do. I can't stand when tags rub against my skin, much less imagine wearing some lining inside my shorts. So I am happy to cut out the lining (like in swim trunks), and a few tag removals here and there is fine. But! That totally makes the resale factor that much harder!!! haha. I know that is stingy, but come on. I need the size and brand name in there to get a few dollars back from what I pain on the things!

So, my issue with my child being this little fashion stud-is giving me problems. I LOVE shopping for clothes for Elem, and to be honest, I am really good at it! I have a style in my head that I want him to wear, and gosh darn it, I should be able to get him in those clothes!!!! I make it a point to spend many a shopping trip looking for those sales and clearance racks, and I NEVER pay full price for his clothes. So Hurley, Gap, Old Navy...can you please crank out some skinny jeans or collared button downs that would make my little man feel "comfy" enough???? I know I shouldn't have an issue with it, and I know I should let him be comfortable and not have an all out argument over getting dressed and what he is going to be wearing all day. But I really do feel like your kid is a representation of you, and when you send him out into the world for the day, that is a reflection of you! And I want him to have a sense of pride in what he wears. I think it definitely develops a habit and down the line he will want to continue to dress nice and feel good about himself when he gets ready in the morning. But, for now, I am looking for ideas and ways to make my sense of fashion work with his stubbornness and sense of need for his OWN comfort. Deep breath-sigh. I know its not the end of the world what he wears, but gosh darn it, I want him to wear the things I bought for him. And to be thankful his mommy has a sweet sense of style. One day he will look back and be thankful I had him looking good, right?

The superhero is back!

2011-02-23T04:13:00.000-08:00

Thats right ladies, take a good look at this little stud muffin of a super hero! Elem is LOVING him some super heros these days, and the craziest part about the whole thing, is that- even though I finally caved in and bought a couple of super hero books, he really doesn't even know who they are or anything about them! But it doesn't keep him from looking up to them, playing dress up, pretending like he is saving the world and fighting the bad guys. I know super heros are the "good ones" but with all the fighting they do, they aren't really my favorite people-and def not particularly what I want Elem learning about. But-bite my tongue, it appears it is inevitable, if he is interested in it, I have no say. I just don't allow him to watch it on TV (and that is me feeling like I am still controlling the situation-haha). But using your imagination and creating a whole new world to play in-now that I can support! *As a side note- I HATE character stuff (meaning I hate little kids shirts and bedroom stuff with disney characters and all that stuff!), sorry I am uhm, just not backing down on that one. But with the onset of the recent love of super heros I feel that interest is right around the corner! Hopefully he will just stick to playing dress up and read books on all his favorite super hero peeps. Keeping my fingers crossed for no request for character (super her) bedding! ha!

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T17:47:00.001-08:00

My LITTLE Valentine. Being sweet and enjoying his major stash of goodies he scored from his class party! Lots sweet little valentines, candy, and an extra special root beer for a valentines day after school snack!

Per the shirt-"all you need is love"-the Beatles

So-what did the Mr. and I do for V-day? Well, we actually went on a mini date, thanks to Ali and Dustin for watching Elem for us! And added to our tattoos!

The top-still the same-the box representing our first phase of our lives together, and our marriage. On the beach at sunset-very appropriate! And then the 2nd, previously an empty box (for waaaaaay to long), also known as "Elem's Box", is now filled with an beautiful tree. Representing our family tree, most importantly our family shifting from just the 2 of us, to just the 3 of us. And the final piece, another empty box-representing the next chapter of our life. Hence the reasoning for it being empty :) Since we don't know what is ahead, we will just wait and see. Hopefully, the next box wont take 3 years to fill in, because that was so long to wait. But to be honest, it really took us that long to figure out how we wanted to represent this phase of our life. But now that we figured it out, had the artist draw it up, and finally have our matching works of art-we just could not be happier! I haven't had a chance to snap a pic of our tattoos together, so you can see how exactly alike they are, but I will work on that. So just my little arm will have to do!

Great Valentine's Day! We have so much love in out little family, and were really just happy to all be spending it together. Love you Elem Zane, and Love you Daddy!

Nail biter

2011-02-08T15:25:00.001-08:00

Still biting those nails. (tsk tsk tsk)

Busy busy.

2011-02-05T06:45:00.001-08:00

We have been so busy, I can't begin to think of where the time has gone. Nursing school has been keeping me on my toes, studying as much as I possibly can, Seth has been out of town on and off for about 3 weeks, been working about 25 hours a week at the shelter, and Elem...well he is 3 (almost 4). Haha! I'm not sure what keeps me more busy, school and work put together or just Elem alone. We have found a tiny bit of time to get some things done though, and spend time together.

We have been having a lot of fun, but there just never seems to be enough time in the day to get all the things accomplished that I would like. So busy life will hopefully pay off soon, and turn into a nice nursing career where I will have more money and more time to spend on my family. And I can be that super woman class mom that I have always wanted to be! Wahoo.

More snow.

2011-01-31T17:22:00.001-08:00

Yes, it is true. We have had more snow.

Snow, snow, go away, please come back another day. (Next year preferably)

We are all snowed out, and the pics above all took place in about 15 minutes. Thats about all the time Elem was willing to spend in the snow this most recent time, which kept us out of work and school for 3 whole days. Craziness! Yes, it was pretty, but we are ready for Spring!

One sad little boy

2011-01-30T06:27:00.001-08:00

This is not the face of a happy camper. Much less one that feels good.

I made a HUGE mistake, but one that I will never do again-as a parent. Normally, I feel pretty confident about the decisions I make regarding parenting, and Elem, with the education I have had, and all the experience I have had with kids. Of course, I dont know every little thing about raising a kid, but I do my best. And to this point, have been so proud of the limited illnesses and injuries Elem has had. I can safely say I have been able to protect him from any major head or teeth injuries :) haha, really from anything happening to his face (which I am very proud of because it freaks me out!). And other than the regular bumps and bruises that come along with being a very active 3 year old little boy, we have been so lucky! Until recently. The other night Elem took his bath, jumped out, brushed his teeth, and while he was looking at himself in the mirror, I quickly grabbed a Qtip to clean out his ear. Now I usually do this about once a month, and I have a fear that I am always going to hurt him. So I really am very gently and he usually giggles and thinks it tickles. So I cleaned the left ear, just fine. Moving on the the right ear, and screams of bloody murder began to pierce MY ears! Never have I heard Elem cry or scream so loud and genuine, and I knew I had done something to his ear. Next thing I know, Elem is telling me that I stuck "that tooth pick" in his ear and hurt him really bad. Talk about feeling awful. :( I looked at the Qtip and there was barely 3 strands of cotton on the end I stuck in his right ear, meaning I basically did stick a Q tip in his ear! OUCH!

So I held him, and after noticing that he was covering his ear and trying to lay on it so it wouldn't hurt, I just felt even worse. The point when he asked me for some medicine to make it go away, this coming from the child who swears up and down he is not sick, just to get out of taking medicine, just about broke my heart because I knew something bad had happened. Over the next couple of days, he continued to complain about his ear, but it seemed to be getting better. With work and school, I didn't really see him but early in the morning and late at night, so I had to go on limited info. By Friday (this happened on the Monday), he was so upset and still complaining about his ear, and I could see blood coming out of it. So I took him bright and early to the doc on Saturday. Once we got there his Pediatrician looked at the ear and said yes something had been done to it. And that there was dried blood all over his ear drum. To which she told me his ear drum did not look like it had burst due to infection (which I already knew), and that I had perforated the ear drum. Basically, I poked a little hole in it. But with all the dried blood inside his ear and coating the eardrum, she couldnt tell where the hole was, how big it was, if it was healing, etc. :( Talk about feeling bad. Break my heart right there on the spot and just stomp on it. I feel awful, I know it hurt so bad, and it was totally my fault! Sigh. So sorry little man, mommy did not mean to do that!

One thing I took away from the whole experience, DO NOT ever put a Q-tip in your child's ear. EVER. And so I have been told by the pediatrician, and everyone else in my life (including Elem) haha, and so I listen. No more Q-tips. Ear wax is a good thing and it is there for a reason, which is what the Pediatrician said, so I guess I will get over my little fetish of thinking it is nasty if I can see it when Elem is sitting in my lap. Oh well.

For now, E went through some ear drops for a week, and he appears to be all better. No pain, and the dried blood has all come out. That we can tell. This is one thing that I can assure you will never ever happen again.

Are you smarter than a ...preschooler?

2011-01-29T07:24:00.001-08:00

This is what my child has been up to. The Ipad.

He has played it more than me, knows how to use it better than me, and officially thinks its his. Currently his favorite game is Madden football (go figure!), Angry Birds, and Cut the Fruit. Oh and lets not forget he watches ESPN sports highlights on their every chance he gets. Oh yeah and uhm the fact that he knew how to get on Netflix and find his "video of choice" before I did. I think we have a problem. Someone is addicted to electronics.

Happy 10th Birthday Sage!

2011-01-26T14:08:00.001-08:00

Looks pretty good for a "70" year old if you ask me! My "sweet sweet bo bo bear". ha! That is Sage's nickname that she has graciously accepted from Elem Zane, who takes every opportunity to call her that. One of our favorite things about Sage is her underbite, which includes a snaggle tooth-you can see it if you look really close its on the left side. ;)

Elem and Sage are the bet of friends, although the journey was not always smooth! It took her a bit to warm up to him and now, they are "bed buddies". Sage sleeps with Elem just about every night, eats her Dingo bones practically on top of him, and gets all the good scraps from his meal times, and plays fetch and tug of war with the best of them!

On January 20th we celebrated 10 years of Sage!My fetish with photos began with Sage. She was my subject, I guess you could say, and I always loved taking pictures of her and with her. (That was even before digital cameras were big. We are talking Kodak throw away cameras!) Sage has been the best dog, and a part of my family since before the days of Seth or Elem. Yes, in the beginning there have many days of chewing up my shoes, using the bathroom in the house, spending lots of money on grooming bills, etc. But she is a part of my family I could not imagine ever having gone without. In honor of the big 1-0, we decided to have a small family party, because Elem was super excited about celebrating it! We went to Petsmart, Elem shopped with his own shopping cart, and picked out Sage 2 new dog bowls, a couple of toys, and a good little variety of doggy cookies. :) He loves her so much and wants her to always choose him, sit by him, lick him, hug him, etc. It really is just too sweet. So Cecilia's family came over, and Grammy and Poppa, and their dog and we just had a little fun celebrating in Sage's honor. Not to mention that I made a bone shaped cake for her. I mean a party is nothing without a cake!

We love you Sage!

Puzzle Champion

2011-01-25T16:09:00.001-08:00

Today Elem completed a 25 piece puzzle all by himself. Aw. I am so proud of him! he is getting to be such a big boy I almost can't even believe it! He loves puzzles and always has. But he usually loves to work on puzzles with me. He totally gets how to find the corner pieces, then the side pieces, and then try every one that has a matching color in it until you find the right one! ha!

The puzzle he finished today was a truck puzzle that he has always loved and tried to put together, but never quite made it with out a little help from mommy. But today was the day, he just sat in the floor for about 10 minutes and worked away. When he finished it, he asked me to close my eyes, then he carried it in, and told me he had a surprise for me :) It was so sweet. I love him. My little puzzle champion!

Our tiny Fall Photo Shoot

2011-01-22T15:41:00.001-08:00

I forgot to post pics from our mini photoshoot I tried to arrange about the first week of December. The leaves were so beautiful outside, the weather was great, and I THOUGHT Elem would participate long enough just to get a few family photos. But I was wrong. It was insane. Elem did not want to cooperate at all. So I included a couple of pics from the 2 days I tried to make it happen. I know I get a little obsessive over photos, but I really like to capture at least one good planned family shot each year, so I can look back and remember ...US.

This is what I got.

Handsome.

Silly.

Love.

Fun.

Little Man.

These were the best I could get, but I actually love these. I just wish there were more great ones! I got a few other good ones too, but Ill save those for a future post or something. If only my kid have the love of pics like me, then he MIGHT be willing to cooperate with me. Preschoolers....hahaha.

Story time

2011-01-21T11:22:00.001-08:00

Elem still loves to read books. Although "kid shows" are in the top running for nite time activities, which I swore I would never let happen! But they have turned out to be somewhat relaxing before bed time for Elem, so yes, I admit, they are a nightly thing around here. But story time is still a much loved favorite of mine, and I find everything about it just an overall great opportunity for learning, imaging, relaxing, bonding, and time to be ...well......wrapped up in totally something different.

Love this pic:

My reading has primarily been made up of Mental Health/Psychiatric Nursing, haha. So not so much relaxing time for me, but Elem has a few top books on his list, that he has been a big fan of for a little while. They include: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Home Depot-My Drill Book, Sea Creatures Pop Up book, Ten Little Ladybugs, and The Icky Sticky Ant. The Night Before Christmas was top of the list for a good month, but just recently he has moved on. I hope he keeps loving story time and just books in general. He loves trying to read the books by himself, but really does get frustrated when he cant remember what to say for a specific page. That is usually when I am sitting with him. When he is in his room or playroom reading, he usually just says whatever he can remember and is totally content. I am thinking it wont be much longer (well a year or 2) before Elem is reading to us! I can't wait!!!

Reading with Friends

2011-01-11T11:15:00.001-08:00

This is a cute little video of Elem reading to his friend Rowyn. Rowyn is Uncle Spoons little boy and he is almost 2 years old. We love us some Rowyn around this house and wish we got to see him even more! Elem is reading him this Curious George book about frogs and tadpoles. It is so cute if you listen, you can hear Elem pointing to the stages of life of the tadpole. I think he says, egg, tadpole, frog. Haha. I love when Rowyn looks over at the book like, "Oh yeah Elem let me see real quick." I am hoping this is the kind of sweetness Elem will show a future little sibling on down the road one day. Waaaaaaayyyyyy on down the road, after I graduate from nursing school (for all of you who got the idea that I should have another baby in your head form that comment. :) )

Sweet little memories with BFFs.

A few faves

2011-01-10T11:16:00.001-08:00

Just a couple of Elem's favorites these days are:

The color blue! No matter where he is or what he is doing, if blue is an option, then you better believe he is going to pick it out. It can be his shirt for the day, socks, marker color, sticker, or even plate for dinner. Blue is the best right now, and it has been for quite some time. Not sure if that will change any time soon, but he is pretty concrete in his decision for now. :) I like blue and his room isn't blue, so I tried to add a little more blue to his playroom in hopes of pacifying that want!

Kickball/soccer. Every single day when we get home Elem is loving to run outside and play kickball or soccer in the backyard. he loved kicking the ball into his little soccer goal and could play out there for hours. If it didn't get dark, I don't think he would ever come in! He still plays football and basketball all day once we get indoors, since I don't so much allow the kicking inside, but outside he is on a kicking frenzy! And of course I think he is already a star. What can I say? :)

I'm going back and forth with trying to decide whether or not to pay for Elem to be on a little soccer team for the Arkansas Soccer Club. It is the only organization here in Little Rock that allows kids under 4 years old to be on a team. I know he would love it, but I also know I would love it for him. So I am trying to toss that one around. I'm gonna make a decision here this week so Ill post about that soon. I am sure I will sign him up, haha. But I am just thinking he might not want to play if he doesn't know anyone on the team. He is kind of shy like that. Likes to see a friendly face to actually interact with other kids. So that is the main thing. Anyways, I think overall he would get a kick out of it and enjoy making new friends and running around and being free on the field! Who wouldn't!?

Snow, snow, I love SNOW!

2011-01-08T07:01:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, when the snow starts to fall here in Arkansas, everything shuts down, and school is out quicker than you could believe! Although, I do love a good snow day just like everybody else, there comes a point when those of us who actually do have work to be done and school work to be learned, that you have to pray for the snow and ice to be on its way. But for the most part, we welcomed some much anticipated wintery snow and cold weather, taking full advantage for some sledding, playing, and fabulous snow ball fights!

What else to do first, but......EAT IT!!! Elem loved eating the snow-a little too much if you ask me, and every time I turned around I kept seeing this:

After a few bites of snow, and a little shoveling and kiddie play, we headed to some HUGE hills for sledding. I wasn't quite sure what Elem would think or if he would actually do it, but I was super pumped when he did! He is usually a little timid with things like roller coasters and things that go up high, so this one was going to be iffy. Family sledding time!

Back to eating the snow-Cecilia, you want some...its Y-U-M-M-Y!

So we kinda jumped right into the sledding and once Elem had one good first run, he was into it for the rest of the day. Once he got to the bottom of the hill he would just run back up, and hit the slopes again. So funny! I was shocked at how much fun he had and so happy he was a fan of the snow day sledding. Yeeeeaaaahhhhhhh-weeeeeeeeeeeee.

Per Elem, "I love that"

Fun in the snow with mommy and daddy:

After several hours of sledding, snow ball fighting, and plenty of time embracing the freezing wind, we were all happy to get home to the nice heated house. Since that snow day, we have had a couple more, but none have been as much snow as this one. I am ready for the snow and col weather to be gone and for spring to find its way here in Arkansas. I need some time to ride bikes and play at the park, tshirt kind of sunny weather to head my way! Com-on' spring!

Did somebody say snowday?

2011-01-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

Yup, thats right, there has been plenty of talk of snow here in Arkansas, and believe it or not it finally came! We have spent a day or 2 enjoying the fluffy white snow. Ill post more soon!

Christmas Morning 2010

2010-12-29T17:39:00.001-08:00

Lets just say it was a success! Look at that face!

Christmas morning was a very merry one this year! And this was an awesome age to enjoy the "idea" of Santa Clause! As I said before in one of my last posts, Elem did get a nice case of the stomach virus bug on the 23rd, so we spent much of that day hanging out on the couch and over the trash can and toilet :(. Luckily, we spent a good amount of time on the 24th recovering. So although we weren't able to spend Christmas Eve with the majority of the extended family at Aunt Nancy's (in hopes of preventing anyone else from getting sick!), we were able to spend time together and still get ready for Christmas morning. By late Christmas Eve, Elem was finally starting to come around, and he was BEYOND excited about Santa and the sleigh and the reindeer coming to the house. As you can tell he was feeling much much better by bed time and he was on a mission for Santa to hurry up and get here with the presents.

Seth and I didn't go too all out on Christmas this year, because we really wanted Elem to enjoy everything he got. And the only thing he really wanted from Santa was a "big basketball goal". Which we had planned on asking Santa to get for him. But after much thought we did realize that he is just still a tad bit too small to get the real deal to go in the driveway. So hopefully, Santa is going to make a mid year/ birthday drop off with that slightly delayed present. A couple more inches and he MIGHT be able to make it in a big goal, but we really didnt want to cause an opportunity for disappointment with not being able to make it in the basket. So we stuck to indoor stuff this year! And stuff that we knew he was interested in.

Here are a couple of videos from Christmas morning when Elem first woke up!

My favorite part about christmas morning and watching Elem open his presents was how with every single one he would say " I hope its a ..." and then once he was opening it and could see a tiny bit of it, he would switch and say what the actual present was. It was so sweet and adorable! haha" And at the end of the second video Elem got exactly what he wanted from Santa-A D. Wayde jersey...and shows his excitement with a nice little move. Youll have to watch and see! But immediately following he walks up to me in disappointment because he is noticing that there might not be any more presents. Haha. So funny but such the actions of a preschooler!

Elem got hooked up with some major pro-basketball player gear-as you can see his super cool headband and wristbands! Good job Santa, that was a fabulous last minute pick. And he was so happy when he noticed the stockings full of goodies. Of course Santa visited Sage too, and Elem was so funny running and giving Sage her stocking and hooking her up with all her toys that she got from Santa. He loved it!

One other thing Elem really wanted for Christmas was a pirate eye patch. And luckily Santa was able to find it. At the last minute. In the most strangest of places. But it still made Elem happy on Christmas morning. ha!

You wont see any pictures of Seth and I on Christmas morning, because shortly after about an hour of opening presents and enjoying seeing Elem's face when he saw everything, mommy got sick. And it was a not so fun filled day of Christmas activities for me. Back to being over the trash can and over the toilet. So since I am the picture taker, not many more pictures got taken, and there was no way I was going to take a family picture! Although it broke my heart not to have one from Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. But I was there and we all had a good time. Guess you can't predict illness and since it rarely knocks on our door, I can't complain too much! So my happy thought of Christmas includes mainly getting to spend time with family and seeing Elem's face knowing that he had been a good boy and Santa came to HIS house, and left special presents for HIM, that Santa had made or got just for HIM. It is truly such a great part of being a parent, and one of my favorite parts of being a mom, to see Elem be genuinely happy and innocent in his thoughts, expressions, and mannerisms. Seeing him be thankful and happy and smile was just enough!

So Merry Christmas to us (courtesy of a second shot the night my parents were here)

*on another side note-Seth and I did not get each other presents this year, with the hopes that we would be getting our tatoos finally filled in "in Elem's box" on our arms. So hopefully sometime in the next month or so, we can get that done. We have been wanting to do it for so long now, and figured why spend money on anything else, when this is what we want! Now we just have to find time to get it done. Elem loves knowing that he has a box on each of our arms and refers to them all the time as "my box". He knows it is there for him and it is special. Just got to get it filled and then I will post pics!

Elem's School Christmas Party

2010-12-28T18:56:00.001-08:00

How could you NOT love Elem's 3 year old class picture with Santa?? hahaha
(front row: Cecilia, Aubrey, Ethan, Quinlyn, Katelin, Sadie.)
(back row: Luke, Cayden, Elizabeth, Colt, Darryl, Hannah, Elem, Miss Tracie, Brooke)

I am what you could call-a little too involved in Elem's school. haha. But I wouldn't have it any other way! I in no way have time to be spending excess time, or trying to bring the perfect snack, or planning holiday parties, but I freaking LOVE it, and have to remind myself that I am doing it for ELEM and not for myself. Oh well, guilty pleasure what can I say. So since I did the entire Halloween party myself (his teacher did ask me to do it, I swear), I decided to only do one game/activity for the Christmas party. And let other parents do the rest. I really wanted to make sure I got to actually spend time with Elem and enjoy the party with him, rather than planning it and doing stuff to make sure all of the kids had fun. I only get to go to his 3 year old christmas party once, so I wanted him to remember if (if thats possible!) and have fun knowing that me and seth were a part of it! Ali and I decided to bring cookies for the kids and just bring tons of stuff for them to decorate with, and it turned out great! They had so much fun, and put more icing and chocolate chips, and candy than you could ever imagine! And the majority of them didnt even eat it-they just decorated it. haha. But it was fun!

In the hall for songs and prayer before the party got started. Please note Elem all up on me, and not letting me out of his site towards the right side of the class. Also note, no other parents in line-just his teacher. Immediately, Elem is all clingy.

Now its time to party! Elem and his friends in line for the candy cane relay race. So cute. Can't wait for his turn!

Me and Elem-in full Christmas party attire! Courtesy of Ms. Lindsay. The reindeer ears were a huge hit. I must say.

Elem taking his turn blindfolded at "pin the star on the tree". He did quite well, and loved every second of it. He loves games. Even if his turn only lasts for 5 seconds. hehe. So sweet. Grinning from ear to ear.

And then there was Santa. Elem was so happy to see Santa, and of course he asked him if he was the real one. :) I'm not even sure of what Santa's answer was. But Elem was so excited to sit in his lap.

I love this pic. Look how sweet Elem and his friends are. Those are some genuine little smiles. And serious tight hugs. Elem, Ethan, and Kaitlin.

Cookie decorating time! The kids loved decorating all their cookies, and piled on more than you or I could imagine. One kid kept putting tons of sprinkles on, but never put on any icing and was so confused why it wouldnt stay on. haha. It was so funny. Elem did his up right, and enjoyed his cookie! He had so much fun at his Christmas party, and I am so glad I didnt do much more than the one activity. I really got to enjoy it right along with him, but still made sure the party had something fun to do to make sure the kids all loved it. Haha. I am sure I can think of something fabulous for the upcoming Valentine's Day party....hmmmmmm.......

Christmas with Memaw and Papaw

2010-12-27T09:39:00.001-08:00

Christmas this year was intended to be a blast, and all the events leading up to the week of Christmas were just that! However, this holiday season, also brought with it lots of illness around our house, so even though we got to do just about everything we planned that was holiday centered, we did have to alter our schedules and interactions with family and what not, and keep that to a minimum. Elem came down with a stomach virus on the 23rd and 24th, and it was not pretty, that is all I will say about that. Then, I came down with it on the 25th-thats right, on Christmas day, and then I got it again, in triple form the following week and missed out on everything New Years related! It was the worst stomach virus I have had since I was a child and it took me out for 7 days before I could even eat anything. Needless to say, I was sent to my room, and spent the entire time on the bathroom floor or in bed, so I didnt get anyone else sick. Not fun. But all that being said, we still celebrated Christmas and Elem had a great time, even if he wasn't feeling 100%. My parents started off the holidays with an early visit so they could spend Christmas with our family, and then head to my sister and her family's house and celebrate with them also. We were so happy to have them come, and the plan was for them to stay a few days, but when Elem started throwing up on the 23rd, they decided to head out. I think I would have too. haha. :)

Here are a few pics from the trip.

Me and my dad getting ready to open up presents! Yay!

Elem and Memaw. Memaw loved her special serving dish Elem painted for her. It had his handprints on the front, and he even signed his name (very large I might add) on the back side. Best gift ever. I need one.

Elem and Papaw opening up some presents. I think Elem is concerned that he gave papaw some chocolate, and it must have been intended for him. haha.

Our family. By the tree. Elem is posing so nice, because he gets to open presents if he does so. bribery.

Elem and Memaw playing together. My mom is so good about just chilling and letting Elem play whatever he wants to. She will always jump in. Good grandma.

Here is Elem opening up his favorite present from Memaw and Papaw. I ALMOST didnt catch this. It is priceless!

We had a great time with my parents, and they hooked everybody up! Just like they always do. It was super low key, not stressful, and so much fun! We love you Memaw and Papaw. So glad you could spend Christmas with us.

Love/Hate relationships

2010-12-26T06:22:00.001-08:00

Gotta give some to get some huh?

He really does love me, he just doesn't realize quite how much at this very moment. He needs me. He is a mommy's boy. And he loves to show it all the time. Or so I think......

Dear Santa-

2010-12-17T05:23:00.001-08:00

Elem's Santa letter went exactly like this:

"Dear Santa,

Dear God, I want my own couch for my playroom, my own dirt bike, Woody and Buzz from Toy Story, Jesse from Toy Story for mom, Iron Man stuff so I can fly for real, a new Dingo Bone for Sage, a Toy Story room, a D. Wayde jersey, and race cars.

Oh and a Razorback Hogs Chair.

I love you Santa and I hope you drink your chocolate milk. "

Love, Elem

Oh Santa, how we love you this year! Elem has been looking forward to seeing you for a while and he was beyond excited when he actually got to see you and sit in your lap. He loved telling you all the things he wanted for Christmas, and what a good boy he was. This year, he asked all kinds of good questions, and wanted to learn where Santa lived, how he flew, which Reindeer was his favorite, which Reindeer were boys and which were girls, where they would land when they came to our house, if Santa could see him "right now" (usually that was when Elem was not being such a good little boy!), and he even learned all of the Reindeer's names, and loved to talk about them and say them out loud. Elem was one good boy this year, and was so ready for Santa to come and reward him for being so good and talking nice to his friends at school. Elem made sure to tell me that he was on the "nice" list and that he had not been "naughty". His favorite Christmas song this year was "You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry". And of course he loved Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. He also loved the book The Night Before Christmas, and always pointed out this little boy in the picture on the page where it read, the children were nestled all snug in their beds...and said that was him. :) So many things about Santa and Christmas to be excited about this year, and those are just a few of my favorites!

The biggest little Razorback Fan!

2010-12-08T04:45:00.001-08:00

Elem has developed a true love for the Razorbacks-and I would say 70% of it is on his own! Yes the rest 30% was forced upon him from the day he was born, and from every single family member/hog fan in the state. But seriously, his true love for those Hogs goes beyond what I could ever have imagined a little 3 year old boy could have. I must admit, I couldn't be happier-nor could Seth, to hear Elem rambling off Razorback football players names and numbers, and all other sorts of information about Bobby Petrino, that-lets face it, he really shouldn't know. But it makes being a Razorback fan all the more fun! And I wouldn't have it any other way. If you are an Arkansan and you aren't brought up a Razorback fan-then you just aren't a true Arkansan now are you? (I wasn't a born Razorback fan, but when I moved to Arkansas, I quickly learned the tradition, and I jumped on board ASAP. )

I am hoping to see this little dude in a REAL Razorback jersey one of these days, so his mommy can cheer him on from the sidelines.

Elem has not actually BEEN to see a real Razorback game, but we are thinking that next year will be the year for him. We wanted to take him really bad this year, but he isnt really one for sitting and watching, more like sitting and watching for about 15 minutes and wanting to get out on the field and play for the rest of the time. With Seth being as insane of a Razorback fan as he is, that means, Seth would enjoy the game, and I would be in the concession area throwing a mini football with Elem wondering what is happening every time the fans go crazy. Needless to say, we opted out for this past season. BUT next year Elem will get to see his first Razorback football game-we hope! For now, he has been to a few tailgating opportunities at War Memorial here in Little Rock, and that is about all the can handle at one time when it comes time to Razorback partying for a day. If you have never been tailgating at War Memorial stadium here in Little Rock before a Razorback game, you have no idea what you are missing out on! I believe just about all of Little Rock shows up for tailgating, tickets or not, young or old, rich or poor, and celebrates the HOGS from about 5am till way after the game is over. It is so much fun, and some of our great friends have an awesome spot on the golf course where we can hang out and have tons of room for the kids (and adults) to play. This last Razorback game against LSU has to have been the most memorable and one of THE top parenting moments of all time for me. Silly I know, but it was so amazing, and I am so thankful we took Elem.

Here we are showing our love for War Memorial Stadium. Looks a little drab in the background, but all the red and white is over by Tusk at the moment, it filled up shortly after this pic!

After spending plenty of time with friends, eating lots of good food, playing some Baggo, and throwing the football around, we headed off to take Elem to see the "hog"-the mascot, named "Tusk". And he- LOVED- it. It was hilarious, and he was so excited about really seeing the actual real razorback hog. Tusk is HUGE, and quite the poser I might add, he seemed to totally be soaking up all the attention he was getting, but I wasn't quite tall enough to get a good pic of him. Here is ELem and Seth-grinning from ear to ear after seeing Tusk. **Excuse that man in the yellow and purple in the background-how dare he get in my picture! hehe.

After checking out Tusk, we had planned on letting Elem see the players. We knew it would be like a dream come true for him to actually see the players who he cheers for each week, and pretends to be when he is playing football! Connecting that they are actual people, seeing how big they are, understanding that those players on TV are not just on TV all the time, is something I have really been trying to get across to him-but it is a little difficult for a preschooler to grasp! Knowing that the players arrive about 2 hours before the game, we went ahead and lined up super early along the path where they would be walking through because we wanted to be on the front row, so Elem would have a chance to see. Quickly, the masses started pouring in, red and white arms seemed to be flailing all about, and people started squishing in once it got a little closer to time, but Seth and I did not give up our space! We hung tight on the front row, just to make sure Elem got to have his little moment. Seth kept informing me and Elem that the Hogs would be early or on time, because Bobby Petrino is serious about his schedule. haha. It seemed to keep Elem interested and from having a minor meltdown. When we heard the sirens coming down Markham, we knew the bus was close, and Elem started getting so pumped up and excited, he just could not contain himself. First up-Boss Hog. Elem was beyond excited he got to talk to Boss Hog several times, give him lots of hugs, and get pictures made. Thank you Boss Hog -you made Elem's day, starting off the happiness with you!

I could not have imagined the pure excitement and almost unreal feelings that were about to happen-all because of the Razorbacks!!! The players filed off the bus, and of course the madness of the Razorback Fans began. Everyone was calling the hogs, cheerleaders were out, I think the band came through and was playing music, and it was all red and white everywhere! The players walked through, somewhat single file, with their game faces on, and of course couldn't actually stop to talk to the fans, but they didn't even have to! As they walked through, they simply held out their hands, and smiled here and there, of course trying to stay focused on the big game! I knew it was going to be a magical moment for Elem, but I just didn't know which players he would actually recognize or get to shake their hands. I am serious when I say my little boy stuck his hand out as far as his little arm would go, just to touch those Razorback players, and it seriously was like a "surreal" moment for him. Watching Elem smile non stop, stare in awe and almost confusion with his eyes as big as they could get, when he saw Joe Adams, Ryan Mallett, DJ Williams, Greg Childs (even though he was hurt..sniff sniff.), Jake Bequette, Knile Davis, Tramain Thomas, and so many more of the Razorbacks. I could hear him giggling with excitement when the players he knew walked by, and he got to touch their hands, and it was like I said one of my most happy moments as a mom. It sounds crazy I know, that giving college football players high 5's and seeing them in person, could mean so much to someone so little, but it seriously was a dreamlike moment.

My most vivid memories of the entire experience were when Joe Adams , Greg Childs, and Ryan Mallett walked by. Elem is obsessed with all 3 of them, and looks up to them more than anyone else I can think of in the sports realm. He talks about them non stop, has mini football conversations, huddles and makes game plans with them included in the routes (haha), plays football games against them, where he is one or more of them and the other 2 or 3 are tackling him. This kid knows all of their numbers and of course has to be their number, and wear their jerseys every single chance he possibly gets. (if you remember correctly, he was Joe Adams for Halloween and getting that number 3 ironed on to the back of that little jersey was serious business!)It just goes on and on. As soon as Joe Adams walked through and Elem saw who it was, I saw nothing but genuine happiness. I know it meant nothing to Joe Adams, and we were just another set of crazy fans stretching out to tell him "good luck", but it meant everything to Elem! Joe Adams looked right at Elem, was smiling all the way as he walked, Elem got to touch hands with him, and it seriously made his entire year.

Through the line, one after another, Elem stretched and stretched to keep his hand out there, getting to give so many of the players "5's" and still grinning with excitement beyond belief. When I saw Ryant Mallett coming through, I knew Elem was going to be in dismay. And he was. As soon as Elem saw him, he started screaming, "mommy, mommy I see Ryan Mallett". He gave him a 5 and as Ryan Mallett kept on walking, Elem was throwing his fist in the air saying "yes! yes! I did it". It was almost in like a whisper, like he was telling himself, haha. It was so adorable to see him so happy. He turned and said, "mommy, Ryan Mallett is so big, mommy mommy, did you see him? Did you see Ryan Mallett? I gave him a 5". Ahh, melt my heart right there. (Not to mention my 30 year old husband was doing the same thing right next to me-but thats besides the point).

The only person Elem didn't get to see that he wanted to was Bobby Petrino. Elem kept asking, "mom, where is Bob Petrino? He better come out here cause all the other players are here." haha. Seth quickly informed him that "Bob" Petrino wouldn't dare lose site of the game plan by walking around outside of War Memorial for fans to distract him. Elem appeared to get it! haha. So we will hope for Bob Petrino for another day.

Who in the world knew that a football team from Fayetteville, Arkansas could give so many people hope and happiness???? I knew the HOGS were loved, and I know how true us Razorback fans are to our team, but to know that they could give my little 3 year old, probably one of the best days of his entire life until this point, just amazes me. I love that he loves sports, and I love that he loves this team, and I love everything about the memory that he will seriously hold onto for who knows how long! He still talks about it, and it keeps me smiling more than I could describe when I think about the feelings and emotions he was showing as he got to do something as simple as give a college football player a high 5. Wheeewww. Kind of deep thoughts for a college football experience, but when they mean so much to your kid, what are you gonna do? Go Hogs Go!

A trip to the Memphis zoo

2010-12-04T17:25:00.001-08:00

About a month ago Elem and I took a weekend trip to memphis to spend some time with Memaw and Papaw. It has been nearly impossible to find time to do anything but take care of Elem, and study. So squeezing in a trip to Memphis was almost out of the picture-even though we want to see my family more. Elem has been begging to see his Memaw and Papaw and go to "menthis" for quite some time, so I just tried to get as much work done as I could before the weekend and we headed out for the weekend trip. We had a great time and didn't cram too much action into it, but was sure to make a trip to the Memphis Zoo and spend some quality time with the fam.

Here is Elem, Memaw, and Papaw on a beautiful day at the zoo! Love this pic!

Of course you have to spend lots of time eating when on vacation!

Mommy and Elem outside the giraffs-he is a big fan!

memaw and Elem checking out the penguins. Penguins are Elem's most favorite animal in the whole wide world. I mean he has a slight obsession with them and could sit and look at them all da. He saw "Mumble" from Happy Feet :) and was beyond excited to know that the real Mumble was at the Memphis Zoo. hehehe.

Checkin out those giraffs.

We had such a great weekend and Elem had so much fun. he loved going to the zoo and playing at memaw's house and getting lots of love and spoiled. I even was able to squeeze in a short trip to the library while my mom took Elem to this place with pizza and games. He had so much fun. We are so glad that we made the trip and so lucky to have family close by!

I promise I'll be good

2010-11-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

I really will........

Elem is super into presents this year and can hardly stand the wait to get to open just one teeny tiny one! We actually broke the rules and let him open one itty bitty puzzle and he was so high in spirits and excited to get to actually take something out from under the tree it was awesome. Elem has been making all sorts of suggestions that he needs to open his presents now and that they are his anyways, etc. etc. Most of them are pretty positive and his references to his behavior is always one that reflects god behavior and what a good boy he has been. Not going to time out and all. But the other day he did ask me several times to open this one specific present under the tree and I of course was continuing to say no. He finally began to tell me "yes I am gonna open it mom. Tell me what it is right now." He said it over and over, and finally told me "if I didnt tell him what it was right now he was not going to play with me today" (lol) and when I responded with "well thats fine Elem I really dont want to play right now anyways", he told me that "I cant say that to him because its not what he wants and he is going to open his present right now". hahahaha. Insert a lot of whining and fake tears into that whole situation, begging and pleading, and you pretty much get the picture!

The good ole "3s"

2010-11-03T08:45:00.001-07:00

So...no one told me the three's could be so much fun. This pretty much sums up Elem's fabulous attitude when he isn't getting his way. Haha. Ahhhh, I need a vacation. But then I would miss him too much, so I guess you give a little to get a little!

Trick or Treat

2010-10-30T08:47:00.001-07:00

.................

Would you expect anything else? Seriously, this year, it was pretty easy to get Elem pumped up about Halloween and dressing up. Knowing that he is obsessed with the Razorbacks, and Razorback football, we had no problems choosing a costume that made him happy as can be!

Happy Halloween, from our Hog Family to YOU!

Before we headed out, we spent some time with Cecilia and the Suitor family (well Elem and I did-while Seth was preparing for the Razorback game-I couldnt blame him! :) haha) Elem and Cecilia having just as much fun as ever and simply enjoying being dressed up.

We joined in with a few friends from the neighborhood to trick or treat this year and had such a great time. Here is Elem and his little friends all dressed up and ready to get some candy!

Great night, lots of candy, good friends, and plenty of ghosts and goblins to make the night fun!Oh and I might add that Elem was serious when I asked him which razorback player he wanted to be! He has a "real" Ryan Mallett Jersey, that he loves, but just as soon as he got it, he pretty much started his obsession with Joe Adams and Greg Childs. Now Greg Childs ended up getting hurt, so his all time favorite is Joe Adams, whom he HAD to be for Halloween. Joe Adams is number 3 so we ironed on a nice white razorback number 3 to make his uniform complete. He was one satisfied little boy, not even really preoccupied with the candy, but more so not getting scared and sticking close to mommy because he is so afraid of the dark! (But that is another post itself. )

Pumpkins, hay rides, and pony rides

2010-10-25T10:37:00.001-07:00

Yeeee-Hawwww

I love going to the pumpkin farm! It is so much fun to me, and so much fun to enjoy with a preschooler. I love the whole idea of taking a little hay ride, picking your own very special pumpkin, taking it home, and carving it up to set out for the trick or treaters to see! Here are a couple of pics from our trip to the pumpkin patch this year. We went with Ali, Cecilia, and Nate, and had the best time! The pumpkin farm had WAY more than just a few pumpkins to pick from-they had pony rides, hay tunnels, playground areas, fair food, hay rides, and just tons more. It was such a blast!

Elem and Cecilia checking it out before we headed in. Discussing what to do first and which pony was "theirs". I love it.

Elem chose to get on the biggest horse there was. Even walking next to it as it walked around in a circle was a little intimidating. I tried to to let him do his thing though.

He loved it. Enjoying the moment.

"Uhm Mindy, could you get out of my face with that camera and tell the tractor man I am ready for the hay ride?"-per C :)

Pumpkin picking time! As soon as we jumped on the hay ride and headed out to the pumpkin patch, Elem and Cecilia started getting sleepy. It was beautiful weather, and the scenery was so pretty! Once we jumped out at the patch, it was happy hunting from there! Elem quickly found the perfect one for him....but soon decided it was too big and heavy, and chose a much smaller one. :) Smart boy.

"Okay sis I found a good one, did you find a good one?"-per Elem

Roundin' em up and headin back to the ole tractor. My little man treking back with his pumpkin, and C not far behind.

The hay ride back was so peaceful and Elem and C were worn out! Just look at those little sweet faces, holding on tight to their pumpkins.

Time to head out! What a great fall trip to the pumpkin patch. Wouldn't miss it for the world!

Arkansas State Fair 2010

2010-10-24T17:40:00.001-07:00

Of course we made the trip to the State Fair this month, and we could not have been more excited to go! Each year we continue on with our little tradition of hitting up the state fair, eating lots of food-one of which of course involves eating a massive corn dog, playing some much loved and overpriced games, checking out and petting some god ole southern farm animals, and then eating some more food-usually a funnel cake to bring the night to an end. And that is just what we did.

This year we made a couple of trips and little did we know that Elem would take full advantage of a wrist ban, that would pay for its self in just about 5 rides! Were we happy that we got that thing, uhm yes! For sure. Ali, Dustin, Cecilia, ad Nate, along with a couple of friends headed out to the fair together. This was the most fun the fair as ever been for me! I love that this is a little tradition that our family does, and I know that we will continue to keep it going.

We saw the BEST monkey show ever. Elem loved it. And quite frankly so did I. I have always been a monkey lover! What can I say!

Seriously Elem rode so many rides. I have my fears of letting him do dangerous stuff, but I do try my best to be understanding and let him be his own person and make his own decisions. That is what makes us ...us! Not to mention that he is usually pretty timid and not super into trying things that might be a little scary, this trip to the fair was very good for him. He loved these swings-and every single ride he got his hands on.

We stayed up a little late, had lots of fun, and on the way out Elem was literally falling asleep on the way to the car. Unfortunately we experienced his first "overload" of junk and rides and we had to pull over and let him throw up on the side of the rode. The car ride was too much for him mixed in with all the corn dogs, sprite, and rides. I felt so bad for that!!!! But he said he felt a lot better and still talks about it all the time. Haha. Sorry Elem, but the fair was so much fun!

From MOM to MOMMY

2010-10-24T16:55:00.001-07:00

Let it be noted-that this week, there has been a slight shift/or name change rather and i LOVE it! I am not certain why or if there is even a reason for the sudden onset of Elem calling me a name from the old days if you will-but I don't even care, I could not be happier. This week Elem has started calling me MOMMY rather than MOM and it is so sweet. This is one of those things that all moms love and don't want to have to give up, right? Uhm, one of the first words-mommy, the one you wait for like a year to hear come out of your kids mouth, one that you think about hearing your child say the entire time you are pregnant -hoping that it will be his first word and the word that he loves to say the most. It melts you heart when you hear it, and it continues to melt your heart form the day he says it on. And when Elem started calling me Mom, I tried to accept it gracefully, but it just meant that he was growing up, and brought along with it just a little bit of sadness. I am sensitive I know. Anyhow, today Elem is calling me Mommy. All of the time. And even if it only lasts for today, it is a good trip down memory lane. And I want to enjoy hearing that sweet little voice calling my name. Hopefully it will stick!

Wheee.

2010-10-15T15:09:00.001-07:00

C: Deep thoughts- I'm bored. E: Deep thoughts-I'm bored too.

Silliness.

Goofiness.

Giggly.

Race for the Cure 2010

2010-10-12T06:57:00.001-07:00

Real Men Wear Pink right? Uhm hell yes they do! Well in our family they sure do, but with a purpose of course! And that purpose being for breast cancer awareness!

Every year we look forward to the Race for the Cure in Little Rock, to honor all those who have fought the battle of Breast Cancer and to celebrate those have won against it. We love to celebrate the win over breast cancer for my mom, by participating in the walk, and it has become a true tradition for my mom and my family over the past few years. Elem has literally been participating since before he could crawl-and I wouldn't have it any other way! This year my mom added in a couple of fundraiser tries, and were successful in gathering about $300.00 together, thanks to my mom walking around her school collecting $$$ with a hot pink boa around her neck the day before the race!! Whoo whoo!. (we will have to have her start that a little earlier next year:) )

Mom, we are so proud of you and you are our hero-more than you will ever know. You have had such a successful life and succeeded in everything you have put your mind to-so I shouldn't have expected anything less when you heard you had breast cancer. We knew you would make it through, and we are happy to honor you in our race for the cure-literally.

Our Race for the Cure weekend started out a little more rushed than usual, mom had to work until Friday afternoon, and I had work and school all week, and Seth was out of town-so no time to fluff and get ready like I usually do for the race. Luckily, my mom made it around 8pm on Friday night, in plenty of time to see Elem before he headed off to bed. Elem knew Memaw was coming, and was so ready for her to get here, he could hardly contain himself! He loves when his Memaw comes in town, loves talking about her, and loves to tell her all kinds of stuff because she is always way more interested and involved in the conversation than the rest of the world. haha And memaw brings lots and lots of little gifts every time she comes-no matter when it is, she always comes with goodies! Isn't that what grandparents are for???? Well Elem could not have been happier when he saw the lights pull up in front of the house. He had a grin on his face from ear to ear and he was the first one to the door to greet her! We spent some time just playing and catching up, and then got a good nights sleep before waking up super early to get ready for the race downtown. I love love love that so many people from all different facets of my life come out to support so many women-this year my friends were there, co-workers,students in my class, extended family, etc. So much fun to know that it means so much to so many people.

Elem and I had been talking about the race for quite some time, and he really understood most of the pieces about it, and most importantly, he totally understood that everybody had to wear pink to show you were "on that team". So my most favorite thing that Elem said all weekend was on our way to the race in the car-I had scooped him up out of bed and was going to get him dressed when we got there, and he woke up along the drive, and looked at me and my mom very concerned and said, "

Hey mom! I forgot to wear my pink!" It was so sweet. Of course I told him I brought him stuff, but he was genuinely worried and it was just adorable. Here are a few pics from the days events!
Elem-Kind of awake, but really into looking at all the stuff going on and all the pinkness so bright and early in the morning.

Jeff, mom, me, Elem

Me, Jeff

Elem and Me-with about a 1/4 mile left to go...uhm not sure how I got stuck with this end of the deal, stroller is behind us being puched, and I am carrying 40 pounds of solid love. Hmmm-oh well I love it! Happy to suck it up.

Mom, me

Steph, Aidan, Dawn

Cecilia-all pinked out

Just such a great morning and filled with tons of positive energy. We always have a blast and each year wait to find that cure. Thanks mom for coming in town and doing the walk with us each and every year! It means a lot to us, and we hope our little tradition stays in tact every year from here on out.

Mom....I'm so glad-

2010-10-11T12:36:00.001-07:00

Today, I was lying in bed with Elem for his "daytime nap" like many other Sundays, and after reading him a few books, I whispered to him, "Elem, I'm so glad you are my Elem-I love you." And he replied back with.."Mom, I'm so glad you bought me that jeep with that trailer on the back of it."

He turned over to go to sleep, and then right back over to me and put his arm on my shoulder (like a grown up) and said, "mom, I'm so glad that you're my momma (with a big huge grin) too."

So even though it was slightly delayed, he still managed to say something sweet enough to keep me grinning for the rest of the day.

Silliness

2010-10-09T09:11:00.001-07:00

Is this cool stuff or what? We are seriously silly and talented around this house.

Elem and I can do quite a few little acrobatic tricks that we have worked on for some time now. Most of them involve me or him on the floor and the other doing something along the lines of this. I love him. He makes me so happy. He is so silly.

Jesus Loves You.

2010-10-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

Tonight Elem was in the back bathroom getting ready for his bath. He was taking off his clothes, water was running and bubbles were starting to fill up the bath. Seth and I were half way doing things in other rooms, getting him all packed up to go out of town, when I heard Elem talking to himself in the bathroom-which is not uncommon for him. :) I peaked my head in when I heard him repeating the sweetest most precious thing in the whole wide world.

He was saying over and over...

"Jesus. Loves. You." "Jesus. Loves. You." "Jesus. Loves. You."

*Melt my heart right there*

A huge smile just came over my face, and I looked at Seth and he was smiling too because he heard the same thing. I poked my head in and he just looked up and smiled :) I told him that Jesus does love him and that we loved him so much. He just kept grinning and being cute, taking off his socks, sitting in the floor. 5 minutes before he was running around tackling us playing football inside, and doing crazy jumps on and off the couch-and now, when all was calm, he was reciting his memory verse that he had learned at school last month. What a sweet, smart, and joyful little boy we have.

Open House at Preschool

2010-09-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

We love our preschool! Here is the whole family -minus Ali who had to go to class :(

This past month, we have been making huge strides in trying to get into a good routine and accepting that Elem is not going to be with us so much. I think it is mostly hard for me because I have had him with me all the time for so long, but it has been really hard. Finding that balance between making sure your child is in the right atmosphere with other children to learn and grow and socialize while maintaining a close relationship and steering clear of that feeling of being away too much or missing out too much, is so challenging. We are so lucky that Elem has found such a wonderful little preschool and I am loving it so much more than I could have ever imagined. I can't help it that I have super high expectations for him, and for those who are interacting with him-the teachers, the kids, all of them. But I do make sure I am super supportive of his class and what they are learning and for his friends and all of that-I really want him to know that Seth and I are active in his school so he doesn't feel like when he is there we are not involved or a part of it in any way. We talk about his day at school every day, off and on throughout the night, and I love how he fills me in on different things and "who said what" and "who went to timeout" and " who was the line leader". It really makes me feel like I was a part of the day without even being there.

He is doing so good at school and to this day, since August, has only had to go to timeout once, and he has gone to school Monday -Friday from about 8-4pm. So I think that is a great reflection of how well he is behaving, especially when he tells me all about the kids who are there and when they have to go to timeout! haha. Momma is proud, what can I say. About 2 weeks ago, we went to Elem's Preschool for Open House, just to meet the other parents that have children in the school and see some things he had done, see a slideshow, talk to his teacher, and most importantly- per Elem" to eat cookies and see where he gets to play". He was so happy for the Open House night to come, so we made sure all 3 of us went, again just to ensure he KNOWS how much we support him and do want to have a place with his school-not just picking him up and dropping him off.

I am positive that some of his success at school has to do with his awesome teachers! He really did luck out and has such sweet ladies who he really does love and respect (Thank you Jesus!) Here are Elem and Cecilia with their 3 year old teacher Miss Tracie.

And here is a little boy who is slightly obsessed/BFFs?teacher's pet with his afternoon teacher Miss Lindsey. Elem LOVES miss Lindsey. Periodically throughout the night at Open House I kept seeing Elem standing by Miss Lindsey while she was serving cookies and trying to talk to her, and just loving her. This makes me SO comfortable to leave him at school knowing that his teachers are people who he really wants to be around. I was super scared of that going into the whole preschool atmosphere, just because I know how picky Elem is about who he is willing to talk to and who he is not. Ha!

Elem's top playmate- Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays-Thats when C goes to school, and trust me, every single day he wants to know if Cecilia is going to be there or not, its like he has to get mentally prepared if she isn't. :) Sweet babies.

This is one of the things at Open House that the kids had on display, it was a tracing of their feet (well shoe size) and they had a rhyme in there from the Dr. Seuss "The Foot Book", which Elem loves. It was A-dorable.

I can't believe these little ones are already so grown up. They are 3 and 1/2 and learning so much every single day.

This is what Elem made special for mommy and daddy to make sure we remembered just how much he is growing. And it makes me melt-just seeing how much he has grown, how much he weighs and how tall he is. He is double his height since he was born which is so CRAZY! Take a look at that hand print next to mine-isn't it HUGE. Uhm he is 3 and a 1/2 here!

Elem, mommy and daddy are so proud of you and what a good boy you are. You have done such a great job at school, and we are so happy that you have made so many friends, and are learning all about Jesus and how much he loves you. We couldn't be more proud of our little man. He is just a shining little piece of sunshine.

One picky eater

2010-09-22T09:20:00.001-07:00

I am a very picky eater. We all know that. And we have all come to accept that.

Elem is an even more picky eater. We all know that. But we have all not come to accept it as of yet.

I am what you would call a very simple eater (picky eater). To break it down- I do not like many foods, I love meat, love bread and pastas, and a handful of veggies and fruits. I do not like my food to touch on the plate and rarely will you find me eating a casserole or one or more foods at a time, no food on forks that are going to be touching other foods, and hardly any dairy because it doesn't sit well with me. I am sure I could go on, but I will most likely always be this way, because I always have and even though I have tried to like foods here and there, those new ones that enter my menu are few and far between. It is just not my thing, and even though I wish I liked more foods so that I could be this amazingly healthy person, I just can't do it. I don't have the taste buds for it, and I have just come to accept it. Food is not something that is all that great for me, I can't cook worth a flip, and I just eat to eat, not because I like it. Elem-is similar to me in so many of those things I just listed. He doesn't like his food to touch each other, doesn't like a wide variety of foods, doesn't like to try new foods, and really judges most food on their presentation before he will even consider if he is going to put it in his mouth or not. This makes being a mom-and planning for a healthy preschooler so much more difficult than I ever could have imagined! If I could cook I might have a slight leg up, but since I can't and we are dependent on Seth for all the cooking, making Elem's meals healthy and fun for a preschooler to eat is so hard! Our work schedules and life schedules don't help a bit either-since we don't even get home till close to 6pm and sometimes he or I is getting home after that. Currently some foods that Elem does enjoy eating are hotdogs, rice, pasta or noodles, cereal (without milk of course-just like his mommy), waffles, chicken, turkey, sliced-shredded-or string cheese, milk, and bread. Uhm that menu does not allow for much of a variety in eating, and it is super frustrating for me to purchase fresh veggies and fruits and just end up having to throw them away because he wont even touch them! I have tried to keep at least one veggie or fruit on his plate at every single meal that we provide for him, but sometimes it is just so hard! Whew, this is seriously something that I am having to work hard at, and in the grand scheme of things it is just so much easier to simply offer him some healthy deli meat, because I know it will at least get eaten and he will not be hungry! I feel like I am trying hard and am going to keep hoping that he ends up with his dad's taste buds and willingness to eat anything you put in front of him, but it is not looking that way for us! So I snapped this little video to remember just what a typical night at the dinner table looks like for us. The video is about 5 minutes long, but I wanted to capture the entire episode. And this being after about 10 minutes of pre-whining and effort to get up from the table and just not eat anything.

This episode, which happens on average 5 times a week or more, brings me right back to the days when I was about 5-10 years old (yes all of those years) and I would sit at the table with my family while they would al be eating dinner and I would just be picking at my food, trying to think of a way to get out of eating it. I had many different ways of "not having to eat" my food, and I wont go into detail on those, but lets just say napkins and the dog helped out a lot! ha!Payback for how I obviously tormented my family (mainly mom) during meal times and most likely during weekly trips to the grocery store trying to find something that I could force down, is so not fun. Elem, how can you still be so cute when you are trying to talk your way out of eating your food??? And you haven't even touched it or tried it yet?

Go Hogs Go!

2010-09-22T09:01:00.001-07:00

It is Razorback Football season and Elem is more into it this year than ever!!!! Football is a daily activity around our house and watching the games is serious business. Even if we did lose to Alabama, we are still true fans and will forever keep on calling those hogs!

Elem's favorite players are Ryan Mallett and Joe Adams. And even though he is the proud new owner of a red shiny number 15 Jersey (Mallett), he insists that he is Joe Adams, so don't make the mistake of calling him anything any different! He is not quite ready to actually watch all of the game, or even enough of the game to make his daddy happy, because as soon as he sees the players on TV doing all kinds of awesome football moves, he wants to get in on the action. Which usually means that mommy has to make a trip outside to play some tackle football, so daddy can enjoy the game :) Which I am completely happy with-but Elem is so rough, I doubt I will be able to take his beatings much longer!

I wish I could count on my hands how many times he has worn this true Razorback Jersey! Lets just say we have gotten our money's worth -the only thing that would make it better is if it was reversible and had a Joe Adams name on the other side :) Needless to say-He is obsessed with it. Hactually wore it 2 days in a row to school last week. Oh well. At least he was support'n those Hogs!

We are hoping for Elem to be a future Razorback in any sport of his choice! Keep those fingers crossed.

A picture is worth a thousand words

2010-09-15T09:42:00.001-07:00

Enough said.

This pretty much accounts for often interactions with Elem and others...when he is not certain he is getting his way or happy about something. A new phrase around our house is..per Elem, "I feel like I don't want to, so I don't have to. And I feel like you aren't making me happy right now and I don't like that. "And I type that verbatim.

Gotta love the 3s. Gotta love em.

Where is Elem?

2010-09-12T12:24:00.001-07:00

Guess who is still my cuddle buddy every single night and morning?? Believe it or not there is a little midget under the covers and he is the best cuddle-r in the whole wide world.

Sadly...my little cuddle buddy is 41 inches tall and 40 lbs-which means he takes up over half my body when we cuddle, which is posing for a bit of an issue.

Da dada daaaaaa

2010-09-11T18:40:00.001-07:00

Elem has not been one to like all kinds of cartoons, although dont get me wrong he has enjoyed his fair share. He has just been kind of picky with what he will actually sit down and watch and really be interested in. I would say the only 2 true cartoon loves he has had, which I have mentioned before are The Backyardagains and Dora. Those tend to rank highest in the past with us (and Barney if you can count that!) but now I introduce to you, a new love for Little Einsteins! He seriously learned this song leading into the show after about 6 episodes. It is so funny. He usually is a little more into it but will never let me catch him with the camera. So this will have to do. But this is sweet. he is trying and seriously does know every single word.

I'm just sayin'

2010-09-11T17:34:00.001-07:00

Elem has really gotten to the point where I don't even notice when he says new words anymore because it seems like every day he says some gigantic words or crazily thought out phrases that I can't believe he is using. Hard to image how much knowledge is crammed into this little person:

Here are a couple of examples:

"Hey guys, this is really a dangerous trick-you got to be careful or you might get hurt!"....insert amazing jump or acrobatic trick or breakdance move.

"Mom, you look so beautiful in your new shirt. I really like it. Did you get that from Target? "

"Dad, did you see that totally awesome throw when Ryan Mallett threw the ball to Joe Adams and he caught it? Thats gonna be me dad, I'm gonna get a touchdown just like him!"

"Mom, we live in Bryant, AR and we like the Bryant Hornets and the Arkansas Razorbacks and Ryan Mallett-the blue teams and the red teams, not those other teams. "

Thats just a small idea of the kind of things he says all day long every single day-not to mention a zillion why questions, which I am happy to say, that I still answer each and every one-hence my little pack that I made with myself, that I would always go out of my way to do that. However, there are 2 words that he has always used, but have just recently been switched up and I don't think he even realizes he is dong it. I know it is kind of silly, but he has changed so much and gotten so big and grown up, that it kind of makes me smile inside because it reminds me that he is still a little kiss. And even though when you look at him you might think he was like 5 years old, but when you hear his sweet little raspy voice saying words just a little bit off, it kind of melts your heart and makes you remember he is just barely 3 years old. :)

Lately he has been saying...."evenly" for the word even. This morning he said,
"Mom, I don't evenly know what you are talking about, so you're gonna have to tell me what you mean" hehe

He has also been say..."renember" for the word remember. He ALWAYS says,
"Moooooom, you renember? It is so sweet it is almost disgusting! Seriously.

Those are just a couple of things I wanted to remember. Crazy to think how much his vocabulary is building every day. We still read books like mad, have long talks and question and answer times throughout the day where we answer like 20 questions in a rown because he is curious about something, and spell a ton of words out because he wants to know how they are spelled. He is on a kick where he wants to spell all kinds of colors, my name, Cecilia's name, and a bunch of other random words that he thinks of on the spot. Its cute, and again, just cool to think what is going on in that little mind of his.

Early Fall Swim

2010-09-03T16:03:00.001-07:00

Did somebody say swim????

Amazingly enough the weather has still been good enough to swim! Our family LOVES to spend time in the water-be it a lake, a swimming pool, a baby pool, or the ocean! ill take it any way I can get it (unless its chilly outside and then I am a chicken and only go in up to my waist, but still!) We love us some pool time. So glad Elem has continued to love the water too. This summer I really wanted to get him swimming lessons, but ended up missing out. He is still in that phase where he doesnt really want to go off with people unless he knows them, and the 3 year old swimming lessons were the ones where the parents didn't get to go with the kids, so I wasn't too sure about how that would work. I am positive he is going to be getting some lessons next summer though! I want him to know how to swim as early as possible, just to ensure he has a great love and understanding for the water and what not. Over the course of the summer Elem went from swimming with floaties, to just taking them off and standing up on his own in grammy and poppas pool and jumping around and getting around any way he could. He can't actually "swim" per say, but he can make his way around or hitch a ride from me or Seth and is totally fine. He loves jumping in and climbing on the later and is totally fearless-until he goes under. And then it takes him a second to shake it off and get the eyes focused, then he is ready to go again. In the baby pool-he is a mad man, and thats all I will say about that! He is like a dare devil, and does all kinds of crazy tricks and flips, and goes under like crazy. It is so funny to watch! And I forgot to mention that he likes to cram as many water guns, buckets, water hose, random toy cars, etc. etc. into the teeny tiny baby pool...I guess because it just makes it that much more fun. Uhm, and then I try to squeeze in there too-so usually a tight fit, but TONS of fun. And the slide makes for a perfect head rest when trying to lay out and cool off. Note to self.

Here are some swimming pictures from recent! I had to post because this could be tha last chance to go swimming. Its a little weird to be enjoying football season and thinking about heading outside for a dip in the pool-so we are most likely heading on into just playing outside rather than cooling off in the pool.

Here is Elem and his little friend Rowyn. Both of them loving the water-and if I remember correctly most likely naked because it was a spur f the moment. swim! Oh well. :) Rowyn is Uncle Spoons little boy and looks exactly like him-except for the red hair and pale skin! hehe.

Elem and Cecilia trying to paddle to the other side on their "boat".

Ahhh, just chillin and soakin up some sun after a long days work in the pool. Too cute.

Good bye swimming pools and hello colored leaves and football jerseys!!!!

Elem's 1st Day of Preschool

2010-08-31T16:58:00.001-07:00

Off he goes......

I mentioned before that one of the BIGGEST things going on with us starting in August was the introduction of Elem to his new Preschool. Elem attends Geyer Springs First Baptist Church Preschool 5 days a week! This is a huge transition for us and I could not be more proud of how Elem has handled this huge life change. Since he was 2 months old, he has spent just about every single second with me and our family. He has gone to school at the shelter, only being a few seconds away from me at most, or staid with immediate family, and even that has been limited. So when I say it was a big transition for him, I mean it was BIG. (For Seth and I as well). We have purposely not "left" Elem with anyone else just for our own preference and that being said, he hasn't really had the experience of being "babysat" by a stranger or even close family friend. Yes, we are kind of kicking ourself for that now, seeing as we haven' actually been out together just the 2 of us in forever, but it was well worth it for knowing that Elem was safe and we were spending every second that we could with him.

Seth and I both went to take Elem to school on the first day, and luckily had been able to meet with his teacher a couple of weeks before to ease some nerves and allow him a chance to see the room and get a feel for the place. To make things even a little better, his cousin and BFF, Cecilia, is in the same class. :) We didn't even plan it that way it just happened, so we went with it. Cecilia only attends 3 days a week, so they see each other just enough. Unfortunately, his school doesnt allow the kids to bring backpacks, and there is no need for lunch boxes, so I didnt get to get that ever so loved "first day of school with new backpack and school supplies" picture! So I had to take what I could get. Elem is still in this phase where he doesnt want me to take pictures of him-I dont understand it-so I have to take what I can get. And Seth thinks I am crazy for taking so many pictures, but I still try! These are a little gloomy for some reason, but it is safe to say the place was night and perky and full of little faces when we walked in.
On our way in-

Uhm-Mom? Dad? Are you sure you think I should go in here?

First things first-gotta wash our hands and get our name tag so the teachers will know who we are :) I had to make SURE everyone knew is his name was Elem (like L-M-N-O-P) and not EEElem with a long E. That drives me crazy.

Here he is on the bulletin board-he is the only kid that had a silly picture-go figure. Goes right along with his personality. ha!

And what do you know....look who is in the same table group together....

He went right on in and started playing with the manipulatives at the table and started talking to his teacher, Ms. Tracy. He was totally ready, and way more ready for us to go than I was. I seriously had planned on staying for AT LEAST 30 minutes and we pretty much left after 10! He told us he loved us and gave us lots of hugs and kisses and he was good to go. We told him Cecilia was on her way to school to and she would be there in just a couple of minutes and he was good to go with that.

On our way out, we found little miss sunshine, all perky and very happy for her First Day of School Pic to be taken!

I am so proud of Elem, there were no tears, no sad faces, no running out the door or anything! The whole first week went just like this, until Ms. Tracy was late one morning, and that was a whole different story. I wont go into how I started tearing up(crying really) because how Elem was crying and I had to leave him with a stranger!!! Because other than that he has just done so well! he is the second biggest kid in his class and his teachers love him! He does great at school and is well mannered and from what I hear from the teachers, has only had to go to time out once since he started! So thats a great report for me! Mommy's little boy is growing up so fast!

Good-Bye Summer-Hello School...

2010-08-09T07:13:00.001-07:00

This post has been a while coming! I have been SO busy with all the changes that have been going on in my life, and I have majorly had to make some adjustments to timing and what I do in the little bit of free time that I have. I hate hate hate that blogging has taken a backseat and I haven't been able to document and keep up with everything as much as I was before. This is my ONLY form of scrap booking (unless you count ALL the tons of stuff I have saved in Elem's closet waiting patiently to be put in an actual book) :) that I use to keep memories and things in a timely order, and totally serves as a journal and outlet for me. So I really am going to try to commit more time to it because I know when I look back I am really going to regret not jotting down some of the little things that I love so much. For starters, our family ended the summer and kissed the 107 degree temperatures goodbye, with mixed emotions! I love the summer-swimming, the sunshine, pretty flowers, and all the school age kids at the shelter, but at the same time-enough heat is enough! The shelter summer program ended on July 31st and we had our annual graduation that gives the kids and the staff some closure!

Here is just a COUPLE of pics from the summer of Elem and I and our time with the kids at the shelter! I am so thankful he has been able to be a part of this culture and been able to come away with so many friends and good experiences! I think it has really contributed to who he is as a person (even though he is a little person). :) And even though it was really hard to work and have him there with me, again I just wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Even though I am still a part of Our House, Elem has recently moved on! In the pics you will see where he has made so many good friends, and definitely feels himself at home within the shelter and its programs. Awesome! And to top it off, he found his first true love...Ms. Caroline. She was one of my employees for the summer program, and the FIRST EVER teacher/person, Elem willingly wanted to leave me for to spend the day with. I am not shocked at all that he chose such a beautiful girl, inside and out! He has good taste. The first pic(once the slideshow gets started) is my favorite-Ms. Caroline missed the graduation and couldn't be there but Elem was sure to find a pic of her and hold on to it tight and even made it home with it!

Free slideshow design customized with Smilebox

I didn't realize you had to click onto a new page to watch the whole thing, so if you dont want to watch the slideshow, here is the pic of Elem and Ms. Caroline:

How can you not smile, right? Hehe. So sweet. Moving right along- here are a few updates that are going on in our lives! I am officially in Nursing School Full Time at UALR! Thats right, I finally took the plunge and decided to go back to school. :) I am super excited about making a shift in my career and I know it is a good choice for our family. Although, it is already proving to be seriously hard work, which I knew it would, it will be so worth it. I have been taking classes for a little over a year now, and going back as a "grown up" if you will, is way better! I really like going to school and I am super annoying in that I want to make an "A" in everything. However, it is difficult to find time to study with a kid around, so I kind of have to make do and have done some major shifting around with my schedule to make that happen. That being said, I am officially, part time at Our House Shelter. Which makes me sad because there could never be enough hours in the day to do my job, much less do it in a limited amount of time! So I just kind of have to do what I can in the time I am there. In addition to that, I took a huge step and got another job as well-I know I am insane! At Arkansas Children's Hospital, as a Patient Activity Specialist, where I basically play and provide activities, etc. for children in the hospital. It can range from bed side activities, to holding toddlers and reading to them, to organizing a playroom. I love it! That job is just a Zero Base job which means they call me and ask me if I can work when they have people needing to take off. Of course there is plenty of that! So I try to work about 1 shift a week or so. I know it was a huge risk in doing that, but I wanted to get my foot in the door at a hospital and really get some hands on training so I would feel comfortable when I was put in that atmosphere in clinicals. And I am so glad I did. Hopefully, when I graduate, I will be able to get a job a TINY bit easier with the hope that they hire within much faster that outside. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one. And finally, Elem has started preschool at Geyer Springs First Baptist Church. He is officially a big boy and it was SO difficult for me to let this happen. I am very stubborn in my ways and controlling with the whole parenting thing-and even though I willfully admit it, it has been super hard for me to let go and let someone else do some of the teaching to our kid! And I mean SUPER hard. Ill go more into his school on the next post! Overall the shift in these lifestyle changes has gone pretty smooth with the exception of some serious role reversal on the part of me and Seth in regards to who is at home and who is at work, and with some severe exhaustion going on! We are so excited and happy about where our family is headed, so keep us in your prayers and send your positive thoughts our way, because we need it. And we are a little more on the poor side these days, so we don't really do much outside the house, but since we have about 2 more years of that ahead, it hasnt really made too much of an impact on our life! ha! For today, all are happy, healthy, and in good spirits!

The stand off

2010-08-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

And I mean the stand off between Sage, and ALL the other dogs that Seth's "shelby" side of the family has decided to add o the brute. Okay so I am a dog lover. Don't get me wrong. I love animals, -of all kinds, except those that are like insects or bite me for some reason. You have a pet, Ill love it, you have a dog, Ill pet it, a cat, Ill hold it, etc. But lately, the canine population with our family and friends has surplused to the point of obsurdness!

Ali and Dustin have had on the upward side of 5 dogs living in their house over the course of the summer and Seth's parents have had 3. I am happy to say that we are sticking with one! Sage. And only Sage. She may be 9 and 1/2 and strong in her ways, but gosh darn she is a good little dog and doesnt expect much more than a little lovin when you walk in the door, and a Dingo Bone every single night around 8pm. :) hehe. And by the way, IS Elem's best friend and sister. Best big sis in the whole wide world.

You're getting on my nervous

2010-07-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

And I say that with a quote, "you are getting on my nervous". Hmm wonder who this quote could be by? Uhm thats right, Elem Zane. I have heard him only say this maybe 2 times...but it is clearly stated. We will be playing and in an instant when I would say, You are getting on my nerves, which is not directed towards Elem but more towards Seth when he is being silly and seriously getting on my nerves. The only thing Elem can come up with is partial phrase, that is oh so funny!

No I do not like to hear stuff like this come out of his mouth and it does make me rethink what I just said, BUT all at the same time, it is crazy to me that he can repeat this stuff! And the fact that he say "what he thinks is to be the correct text" at EXACTLY the right time. Since when did he hear that -that would be the correct timing to put the statement like that??? Crazy how fast he is growing up! And right along with it, his vocabulary just sprinting ahead.

Lake time in tennessee

2010-07-25T14:22:00.001-07:00

I know I have mentioned about our lake time with the Suitors, but we were also lucky enough to take a mini vacation and spend time with the other side of our family! We headed to somewhere around Dover Tennessee. And when I say somewhere "around" I mean literally like it felt like we were kind of in the middle of nowhere but in a cabin with a lake. It was so much fun! I am so thankful that we planned the trip the way we did-Elem and I drove to my parents house in Memphis on Thursday night in hopes of breaking up the trip a little bit, because we had an almost 8 hour trip ahead of us. I knew Elem would not make it that entire way and I actually knew I wouldn't make it that far driving. And I so not a fan of driving and would better enjoy sitting in the back and watching movies and playing games with Elem. But Seth had to work so that was not an option this time! We made it to Memphis despite some bad weather, pretty late, spent the night, and headed out to meet my family the next morning. We were at the lake by noon, and spending time with the family and headed to the pool by 1pm. Elem was ready to do something active by the time we got there and he was so excited to see everybody-especially Memaw and Papaw. :) he hadn't seen Wyatt in quite a while so I was hoping he would be fun and play with him right away, and my sweet little man did not disappoint! He was all in Wyatt's room talking to him through his playpen right away, so I knew he was going to be good! Seth met us the following day and we all spent about 3 days together just relaxing, playing in the water, looking at the boatsI must warn you-this is picture overload, but we dont get to spend time with my side of the family all that much-especially all together, so I had to take advantage of the time to snap shots!

I must admit-much of the weekend was spent like this:

And the rest of it spent like this:

Uhm whats not to love. Chillin on the boat and in the lake with some adult beverages, and some family time, AND kickin on little beaches with lots of sand and tons of seashells for the cousins to check out!
Thank you to my sis and Vincent for finding us a secluded quaint little place to chill and hang out with the fam! Here is Elem with Memaw, Papaw, and the kitties!

Elem and Memaw LOVE to mess with those kitties and make sure they are still hiding where they were just a few seconds ago.

We spent some time at the pool-Memaw and Wyatt learning how to swim

And some time at the lake-Vincent and Wyatt testing the water.

Plenty more time in the pool-Wtare guns are really "IN" these days.

And the most wonderful last day on the "beach" that we found where the boys could just chill and hang out and dig in the sand.

We had such an amazingly relaxing trip and I am so happy that we were able to make it all the way to Tennessee. Even though it was way in the boonies! It is always so much fun to see my side of the family and this time even more than ever before, it was cool to see Elem remember everybody-like Wyatt and my sis and Vincent, and more so care what they thought and where they were. We live so far away that sometimes I feel like he might not remember them or really associate them as part of his close family or support group, but this trip proved me wrong. We talk about my family as if they were around a lot more so he is totally familiar with their names, etc. But it was refreshing and good to hear him talking to them and hanging out with them and just living them without being too shy. What a great way to relax and end the summer right before I seriously got going with school! Hopefully we can go back and so something of this sort every year!