We are here...enjoying the spring weather!

Did a Leprechaun come to your house? Well he made a visit to our house on St. Patrick's Day! He loved the marshmallow rainbow Elaina made so much that he left her and Skylar a small pot of gold...with chocolate of course!


Miss Sleepy Head examining the "gold" and shortly after digging into the chocolate.


Rarely does Skylar sit still long enough for us to read him a book let alone look through one himself. It does happen on occasion and it makes this teacher's heart happy to see!


It is princess this and princess that with Elaina! She isn't as interested in playing with Barbies (now Tinkerbelle is a different story) but loves to dress up in anything she thinks is princess like. Of course heels are a must!


Crown...check, heels...check, princess dress...check! Ready to pose:)


Even a trip to the zoo requires a touch of princess!



First HOT day of the year in early April and the kids played with the water table then created their own "pool" after emptying the bin with the summer toys. The air was warm but the water...not so much. Both were chattering their teeth the whole time but smiling and loving every minute of it! Bring on summer!!
Quick pre-dinner trip to the park down the street. No one is ever there and we had fun playing all by ourselves on the slides. Best part of where we live...so many parks all around us. It is never boring!!


So grown up now!
I finally broke down and bought a membership to the Museum of Transportation. The kids love Creation Station (where we had their birthday party) and when it is nice, walking around looking at the trains is a fun way to pass an hour.

We had never taken the train ride here but now that we have a free passes, we went for it. Little Miss Excited with Mr. How Does It Work?
Love my little Laina Belle!

A perfect way to spend a beautiful spring Sunday morning...in the woods at Longview Park!




PS Do you know how much I love my iPhone?!? If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have any pictures!

Spring is here...

So I put my little ones to work:)

Our little collector

I went into Skylar's room in the morning and found him in bed with all this. He usually sleeps with a toy or two and of course his bunny. But this night he had been carrying around Elaina's doll and cradle (which somehow ended up in bed) and he must have gotten out of bed and brought a basket of toys into bed too. How did he fit?! Who knows?

Happy Happy Happy!

Some days seem to go so well. So well that you don't even want to jinx it by talking about it. Maybe writing about it doesn't count? And I will have just as good a day tomorrow? We can hope!

Back up two nights ago... I was up with Skylar for two hours trying to calm him after he woke in pain from his diaper rash (rough day with the diapers!). Then the next day as I tried to catch up on my sleep from the night before, Elaina threw the biggest tantrum over sleeping in her bed during nap.

So last night I was exhausted and ready to sleep. The kids came through and slept until almost seven this morning. They woke up happy too! Then I got the morning to myself when my mother in law came to watch the kids. Sure I had to have a crack in my tooth filled and my mouth still hurts but I had four hours to myself! I came home to two kids that were happy and tired. They went down with only a minor Elaina tantrum lasting less than five minutes. Followed by them napping for three hours!

I also decided today that I was tired of buying diapers. Yes, tired of the cost and especially tired of the fact that Elaina was just being stubborn. So I caved and bought M&Ms to bribe her and guess what. She went at least four times this afternoon!

Feeling abnormally brave I decided to take the kids to the pool myself. I knew I was pushing my luck but we survived. No tantrums when it was time to leave. No running to the splash pad area. No crawling into the tunnel they love. They stayed right at my side, splashing and playing.

We came home and had dinner where both kids ate and got along with no fighting. Am I in the Twilight Zone? Nothing ever goes this good ALL DAY!! And it continued with them going to bed without a fight, no problems at all. I am not going to push my luck any further. Off to bed I go, knowing that one or both will wake in the middle of the night. One or both will wake crabby. But for now I am enjoying reliving the day that went so well.

Elaina Dancing

Elaina loves to dance. I put on some music during lunch and after she ate she left quietly and I found her dancing in the other room. I know...the first some is a little inappropriate...I need to make a dance mix just for the kids:) Also, as I watch the quality of the video, I am hoping my hubby will get me one of those cool Flip video cameras for our anniversary so I can take better quality videos than my Blackberry does! Oh and not to be left out, Skylar came in at the end to shake it too!

Wheels, Buttons, and More!

Our early childhood center has lots of events throughout the year. Honestly, we didn't go to them as much as we could have this year. But we picked a great one for Skylar! It was called "On the Go" and had all kinds of cars. Yes, Elaina was there too but come on....this event was SOOO Skylar!

Been there, done that! The police helicopter had just landed behind them but Skylar has already seen one before at an Easter egg hunt Jon took him too (while Elaina and I got haircuts). He seems to be saying....NOT impressed!!


"Now this is more like it!!" Playing inside a tow truck.


"And there are buttons up top too?!?"


Helping the mailman


Taking over driving for a bit:)


Trying out the stretcher in the ambulance


Firefighter Elaina


Capri Sun is the best!


Racing the cars down the ramp


Getting fitted for a helmet (we had to get Skylar's "to go" since he refused to sit there and get it adjusted.


She just came from getting her diaper changed...helmet still on! It stayed on the whole car ride home too!

Spring fun!

I had to take a personal day because Grandma P who usually watches the kids on Mondays was out of town. It couldn't have been a better day to be off! The weather was beautiful, the kids were in a great mood, and I had spring fever! We spent the day playing at parks (one in the am, one in the pm), searching for houses for Maggie (my best friend from college who is is moving here very soon!!), shopping at Walmart, playing in the water table and on the swingset, and making cupcakes. What a great day! I am so glad I will be home full time soon...the pictures below remind me of how fast they grow!!


Sassy mama caught in the tunnel

He looks too comfortable behind the wheel

Spring Break

How does 10 days off fly by by a five day work week seem to crawl by?!? It seems like we just started spring break and I have to go back to work in just two days:( We didn't go anywhere as a family since Jon had started a new job and, well, after our Thanksgiving travels to Gibson Island, I swore I would not travel with the kids again until I took them to college. But we still had lots of fun and were so lucky to have amazing weather so we were outside a lot!

Spring Break started with Aunt Barb coming in town for a visit. Elaina warmed up very quickly and was calling her BoBo almost as soon as she was here. Mom, Aunt Barb, and I went to the Ozarks to go outlet shopping for the weekend. The weekend started with us driving and talking nonstop and then about an hour into the trip I decided to take a nap. I told them the exit to look for and fell asleep only to wake up in Columbia...which is about 3o minutes PAST our exit! You see there are really only three roads to get on but the O'Leary girls were too busy talking that they missed it!! We pulled over, I got directions and took over driving. When we finally got to the outlets, we hit the ground running. Lots of shopping for the kids! We checked into our hotel and then headed out for Mexican food and of course margaritas (which were the weakest ones I think I have ever had, but that is probably a good thing since they give me hangovers!). We all crashed early. The next day we finished up shopping and then headed home. When we got home, Elaina was happy to see me and of course MoMo and BoBo. But Skylar...well, all he cared about was his MoMo. It was like I wasn't even there!

On Monday we took Skylar, Elaina, and Olivia to the zoo. The highlight was definitely the children's zoo where you can pet the goats.

The rest of the week was just a lot of time spent outside. We went to Suson Park for the first time with friends and it was GREAT! Spent time at our favorite park, Longview. Played in the yard and got the outdoor toys out. Went to the early childhood center playground and burnt off lots of energy.

We also had several appointments for Skylar over break. He received his first visit from the Developmental Therapist who I really liked. She is working with us on some of the behaviors like eating, tantrums, but also incorporates sign language and some of the sensory tactics. He also had his first visit from the speech therapist and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But after talking to a few people their experiences are similar. It is play based for now and she is also working on boundary setting so he learns who is in charge and can follow directions. It was at times a struggle for him to not be able to do what he wants. Whereas we would probably just let him have his tantrum and not give in, the therapist does that PLUS makes him do what she has asked. Often it is hand over hand so he learns what to do but with time he should be able to do it more independently. Our last appointment was for a sensory evaluation. Sensory Processing Disorder is something we are just learning about and my experience has always been with autistic children. In my reading, frequently children who are diagnosed with autism have sensory issues but the reverse is not always true. Everyone we have talked to does not think Skylar has autism which is such a relief. We will get the report from the evaluation soon and find out what we need to do next. In the meantime, our little guy is signing "more" like crazy (usually when he wants more milk, chips, or pushes on the swing). He is babbling new sounds and "talking" to himself when he goes to bed at night. He is so expressive with his face and his sounds, we are just anxious for the words.

It is funny that all our pictures from break are inside since we spent so much time outside but oh well. Enjoy!

Elaina decided to sticker herself and her bunny. She was so proud of her work!

Watching tv together


Skylar realized Elaina didn't have her sippy cup so he was trying to give it to her. They might fight but they do take care of each other like this all the time!


Enjoying a snack in the kitchen while wearing Elaina's boots (which he brought to me to put on!)


A better view of the look


Blackmail pic in 20 years!

Resting on the couch before lunch since she had been up since 4am. Mommy didn't have the luxury of resting at this time!!


Elaina and BoBo


Elaina asked for a kiss and got one:)


Skylar not wanting to sit still.


With MoMo


Coloring in the basement


Bubbles!


He is getting the hang of it...


And now he wants Daddy to do it too!


Elaina walking around with a tunnel on her head.

Is it spring yet?!?

This dreary weather needs to come to an end! Woke up to a rainy morning after a beautiful weekend. When it is nice, we are outside all the time. The kids sleep better and we are all in better moods. Plus right now we can't shake being sick. I am home with Elaina who was running a fever. I start my spring break on Friday and have all next week off. Let's hope it is nice and we can enjoy some sunshine and warm air! Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

Being silly wearing mommy's hat


A more reserved picture


Guess who got a new haircut!


The aftermath of finding the one permanent marker at our sitter's house. It was on her face too!!