A Year Later....The Monster and the Diva

I cannot believe it's been a year since I posted!!! That is a bit ridiculous, don't you think? I guess the moment Caroline started moving my life got that much crazier. So to update on the kiddiwinks, just reread the last post and that'll bascially get you up to date! Funny how the struggles don't change when you have kids. :-)

Actually, John Mark is almost 4!!! I simply can't believe it! Where has the time gone? It feels like yesterday that I was holding back on feeding him solid foods b/c I didn't want him to grow up too fast. So funny. John Mark's speech has really taken off. It is phenomenal what he says now. He's also imagining so much more now. It's just fascinating to watch!

Caroline is now 22 months old and I am in complete denial that she's turning two in less than 2 months!! She is still most definitely a diva! Caroline LOVES to play in my jewelry, makeup, and shoes. That's my girl! :-) However, while does have a bit of hair, she still needs lots more! I keep putting bows in it though and will do until she's 18!!

A Monster and a Diva

You read it right! That's what we have on our hands now. A 2 year old Monster and a 9 month old Diva. Could our lives be any crazier? Wait, don't answer that.

So, JM has taken to air-punching people, things, dogs, and cartoon characters. Why just the other day he was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (wait, my kids watch t.v.? Nope, you must have read that wrong!) and he said, "Hit Minnie!" He proceeded to walk up to the t.v. and air punch Minnie. Um, what? What could Minnie have possibly done to JM to make him want to hit her? I mean, sure, Minnie IS annoying but is he old enough to get that? Maybe he is? I mean, my child IS gifted after all! :-)

Caroline and her diva-like tendencies seem to grow with each passing day. In the past week I've had three people tell me that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Hmmmm....don't know how to take that one. Am I really a diva? Wait, don't answer that one either. Queen Caroline HATES having a poopy diaper. In fact, she cries while in the process just so that we are aware that she will require a diaper change very shortly. She also refuses to sit and play by herself. She enjoys being held, being held, and being held. I am proud to say that she already shows a fondness for shows and jewelry so that makes up for everything said above. :-)

The Monster and Diva will be going to bed soon so I really must go. I'll be sure to post again soon as we are planning to begin Potty Bootcamp for the Monster. Fun times!!!

And so it begins...

It is with great joy (or is it fear?) that I write this....you see, our sweet, little Caroline has FINALLY learned how to crawl. For the past 2 months, little Caroline has been moving around in a fashion similar to that of a worm. But no longer. No, our little ladybug has figured out how to move her arms and legs together so as to create one flowing movement. Hooray, Caroline!!! I must say, both Mark and I have had our moments of concern that she would never figure it out and we'd have an 8 year old inch worm on our hands. I jest, I jest. We were never that concerned....just curious.

Her dear brother, John Mark, is most upset about this new development as his annoying little sister is now able to reach whatever he's playing with in record time. He is of course already displaying signs of genius in evading her progress. For example, yesterday Caroline reached his Little People Garage as he was playing with it. In his surge of anger, he pulled the garage away from her not realizing she was still holding on (or maybe he did know). She flew into the air and then proceeded to fall off onto the floor. JM got a look on his face that basically said, "Yeah, that'll teach you to play with my toys." However, the look on her face was something along the lines of, "Hey, that was fun!!! Do it again!!! Do it again!!!"

And so begins a new stage in our life....it will never be the same again.

Good day.

Holiday Anticipation

It's only November 8th but I am getting so excited for the holidays!! Maybe it's because this year John Mark will be able to understand a bit more about Christmas or maybe it's because I'm anticipating the yummy food or maybe it's just because I simply love, love, love the holidays!! Whatever it is, I just can't wait!

I was talking to Mark today about creating a menu for the week before Thanksgiving. "Why on earth do I need to create a menu?" you may ask. WELL, my brother and his wife are coming over from England JUST for the Pilgrim Feast!! I KNOW!! How exciting is that? It's going to be amazing. Since they're going to be here, my parents and sister will also be joining us. Hence the need to have a menu planned out.

A full week with my entire family in this house. We don't even have enough room but it's going to be good times. Thankfully we'll have our nightly G&T's to get us through. And yes, I'm sure we'll get on each other's nerves and possibly have some arguments. But that's what I love. I love that we'll fall back into our old ways and it'll be like we were never apart. I love my family. I am so truly blessed to be part of such a wonderful and amazing group of people.

Matthew and Lesley, I cannot WAIT to see you both!!!

It's Been a Long Old Time...

The Life of John-Mark....I think we need to change this title to The Life of John-Mark and Caroline. AND, I think I (JM's mommy) am going to take over the writing of this blog. John-Mark is just so busy these days with preschool, protecting his little sister, and throwing tantrums.

I must say, having two little ones in the house has been an adventure. In the beginning it didn't seem so tough...maybe b/c Caroline was pretty much a blob and could sleep anywhere. But now that she's reached the 6 month mark, I find myself running around like a chicken with my head cut off. It must be b/c John-Mark is also becoming a more difficult two year old. That and my business is taking off so I do have a lot on my plate.

But with all the craziness, I'm MADLY in love with my precious blessings!! They bring my such complete and utter joy...a joy I never knew I could have. God is SO good!!

Happy Easter!

Well, it's been an interesting weekend....on Friday night I had a horrible tummy ache and then threw up until 2:30 in the morning! It sucked! I had no idea what was going on except that my tummy would do weird things and then, well, you know....I slept in my mommy and daddy's room in my other crib...I don't know why, but it made me feel better to be close to them...especially Mommy....I can't get enough of her these days.

This morning I got something called and "Easter basket" which was really cool. The most exciting thing was a plastic egg with jelly beans INSIDE!!! How cool is that??

Then we went to church and I got to hang out with Mommy and Daddy to sing songs. I didn't know they sang so much in church. I never get to go to church with them....I usually go to the nursery and Mommy teaches Sunday School and Daddy goes to church. It was so much fun to all be together for a little while. We had to leave early though b/c Daddy got sick....oops, I think I gave him my tummy ache.

*NEW WORDS*

butt = boat

no = no

aba = we have no idea what this means...

What the HECK???

Okay, all I have to say is....something BIG is going on!!! First of all, my mom is getting really fat. Don't tell her I said that b/c she'd probably be upset with me...but she is! It's weird though....her belly keeps getting bigger and sometimes it moves....most of the time when she's reading me a story. I try to ignore it b/c I think it might be gas, but EWWWW that's just plain weird. Who's stomach moves like that when they have gas? Sick!

Secondly, there's all this construction going on upstairs. There are clothes all over the floor in the second bedroom and my mom and dad keep saying how frustrated they are with no closets. What ARE closets anyway? Oh, who cares?! I just think it's cool to run through all the white stuff (they call it dust) and make a huge mess!! Plus it was really cool when I could run into my mom and dad's room and then end up in the other room....there were no walls! SO MUCH FUN!! That, of course, got ruined b/c they put up something to stop me from doing that.

Finally, there's a whole lot of pink stuff in this house. Pink, pink, pink! What about blue, purple, or green? Hmmmm!!! What is going on???

**New Words**

bop = more

(nobody knows where that came from)

pa-ple = purple

i-stei = Einstein

cowwww = car

kock = clock

(yes, I know...slightly inappropriate...that's why it's spelled that way)