Sibling Love

Just a couple of pictures of the two angels! They are already thick as thieves. We are going to be in real trouble in a couple years. Notice that Drew while shorter than Hannah is definitely much larger! And by the way these are real smiles from Drew... not gas! We have a happy smiling baby!!

Happy 6 Year Anniversary!

Six years ago today Jeff and I took the plunge. It was a great day and we love to reminisce about the good old days. Back when we were young, naive, able to eat out in any restaurant that we choose and actually get to read the menu... you get the idea.

So how do you celebrate your anniversary when you can't leave the kids at home since your youngest doesn't take a bottle and you have no money?

You take a road trip... in your SWEET new ride... to the beach.
We packed up the mommy mobile and all of the necessary baby gear and headed to the beach for the day. Since we are up at the crack of dawn anyway we through the kids in the car in their PJ's and hit the road about 7:30. (Both kids are great travelers....seeing as how one got to watch all the tv she wanted and the other passes out as soon as the engine starts!) We made it to the beach without having to stop at about 9:30. We unpacked our tons of gear and headed to the beach. We were able to play and enjoy the sun until lunch time.

Drew did he favorite thing: slept and ate! He rather enjoyed the sound of the waves and the cool ocean breeze as he chilled on the blanket under the umbrella and his vibrating chair. The kid really does have the life

Hannah played in the sand. She took a walk on the beach. She jumped the waves. (She was slightly timid at first because of the pull when the waves receeded; however, once we mentioned that Ariel lived and swam in the ocean she was all in!)

At lunch time we packed up all our gear again and headed to lunch. We tempted fate as we choose a sit down restaurant on the harbor with two EXHAUSTED kids! But the boats and pelicans were all Hannah needed and Drew was a prince and fell asleep .... AGAIN! We enjoyed some fresh seafood and the atmosphere and then headed to the boardwalk.

We strolled around a bit and enjoyed dougnuts at Britt's... mmmm! Then headed back to the car for the long road home.

And what did our angels give us for a present... how about they both slept through dinner time and allowed us to eat our first meal together alone since before Drew was born!

Happy Anniversary Jeff! I can't believe how lucky I am!


Daddy getting Hannah all lotioned up! Hannah enjoying the sand! *Mommy not takin very good pictures!Hannah not so sure about the water pulling at her feet.

Hannah and Daddy planning their sandcastle!
Ghetto baby after the day at the beach.

Our New Ride

So the trailblazer is gone..... and I can't say that I am sad. It was a good car but in the past 2 years it had started to become a money pit. It seemed something was always wrong and it was never anything small. We also found that with 2 kids in the back poor Jeff couldn't put the seat back far enough to be able to drive comfortably. With all that said we went car shopping 2 weeks ago..... I was disappointed. It came to my attention rather quickly that if we planned on having any more kids, or if we planned on being comfortable in a car with the ones we had, we needed a van.

Sigh....

A minivan... a mommy mobile.... the death of me!

Sigh....

We were getting a van. Ok- so I embraced it once I drove the Odyssey.... plus Jeff let me pimp my minivan. Both of us were under the impression that a van was like it was when we were growing up... but my how things have changed. Sans a refrigerator you could really live in the van and it is SWEET inside. There is so much room, storage, it does all sorts of fancy tricks.

Sigh.... I am in love with a minivan!

We bought it .... I pimped it out.... Hannah fell in love!
We got the DVD player.
We got the nav system.
We got blue tooth.
We got the sliding doors and power gate.
We got the leather seats.

I got FREEDOM! Hannah can get herself in the seat. She is quiet as she rides watching her shows using her headsets. I can get the double stroller in and out with out killing myself.

Yes, my name is Katie Page and I drive a minivan.


This is Hannah getting in on her own... now to teach her to buckle herself in and I'm set!

Fairy Fits

So as you can see from the previous post Hannah has had a ... rough... couple of days. Yesterday our sweet friend Christine offered to take some photos of Hannah and Drew. Drew was the poster child for photos. He laid still ,didn't run away, and overall was a gem in comparision. See exhibit A and B.


There were also much fewer tears throughout his shoot. While he isn't doing much these days, (he still doesn't smile consistently) He was a joy to photograph as opposed to my darling daughter.

Hannah was not in the mood for a photo shoot. She was generally pouty and wanted nothing to do with it. Luckily, Christine had brought this adorable fairy/tutu outfit for her to try on.

As you can see she still wasn't smiling but at least we were over the mad face. That is until she decided to run away!





Oh well.... sadly the one of her leaving was my favorite of the day.... maybe it was because that was kinda of my attitude at the time too! Guess well try again soon. (Christine did an awesome job! I'll be glad to get you her info if you'd like!)


This one isn't too bad though... half a smile? Maybe that means we are half way through the twos???? I can only hope!

Seeking the Most Highs Guidance in Taming My Terror... I mean Toddler

Today I claim this verse for my darling daughter:

I pray that Hannah will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which she shines like a star in the universe as she holds out the word of life-in order that she may boast on the day of Christ that she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

Ok- so while I like to claim the whole verse... I really would like the first part of the verse....
I pray that Hannah will do everything without complaining or arguing


It has been a LONG couple of days. It seems like whining, arguing, and general difience are the highlight of our days. I feel like I have tried everything... spanking, reasoning (yeah right), timeout, ignoring... I'm running out of suggestions. Maybe I need the supernanny. Then again maybe I just need Christ's guidance and a daily reminder that I too am in need of grace. That He daily looks at me the way I am currently looking at Hannah. That my tantrums and mistrust and whining are far greater in error compared to the infinate power and wisdom of an almighty God. So through the grace that He has given me, today I am choosing to love my daughter. Through her faults and imperfections I am reminded that she is a gift (one that we waited along time for)... and the bottom line is that despite her attitude and behaviors being sinful it is truly my sinful nature of intolerance and lack of patience with her behavior that is frustrating. She really is a sweet girl ..... and while I pray that God will grow us both through this time of the terrible twos... I also can't help but pray that one day she may be blessed with a daughter just like her!! Until then.... may she learn to love and trust in God's grace and mercy and may both Jeff and I strive daily to learn from her relationship with us as we desire to grow in our walk with the Lord!

Not Me Monday

Are you feeling guilty for pretending not to notice your toddler playing with the dogfood? Feel like a slouch for staying in your jammies all day? We'll don't! Not Me! Monday was born out of McMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments she'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing; I certainly have!

This week I certainly did not let me dear daughter play in a pile of dirt while we looked at cars and then pretend not to notice and she drug the dirt into the brand new car we were test driving.

I also was not the mother running through the down pour with a burp cloth over the head of the very innocent 6 week old baby simply so I could get my fix at Target.

The mother that let her child ride home in her carseat naked because she was so sandy and I simply didn't feel like getting another outfit dirty... yeah that wasn't me.

And if you are looking for the mother who let there 2 year old eat McDonald's 3 nights straight as she was car shopping it was most certainly NOT ME!

That smelly mom that stuck some baby powder on her greasy hair and put on some lip gloss so she could go to the store- NOT ME....

The woman who pretended not to hear her infant crying so that she could check her email (Granted it was only 5 minutes) but it wasn't me.

And there is no way that it was me that put Drew in the bed with us so that I could sleep an extra couple of hours.

The mom that let her daughter jump in the puddles at the science center and start the fussing of at least 10 other children that wanted to do so... again NOT ME!

The good news is this week is over and there will be another 10 or so items that I can't be blamed for next week and if you come across the woman who is to blame for all these things... don't try to get her back in line.... because if she is like ME she won't listen anyway!