25 Books of Christmas

Last year I created a 25 day advent activity calendar to progress the kids toward Christmas. Each day we opened up an envelope and got to find out what fun winter/Christmas activity we would get to do. We did everything from making Christmas ornaments and cards to visiting Santa and driving around looking at lights.

This year, with me and daddy both bogged down in school work, and Thanksgiving happening so late in November I just didn't get us that well prepared. Fortunately for me, Grandma came to the rescue.

This year Grandma, (my mom), took it upon herself to pick out 25 special books, some from her childhood and some from mine, wrap them up, and number them. Each night before bed the Dart and Arielle get to take turns unwrapping a book and hearing a new story before bed. The best part is that she decided to leave a little note attached to each one as to why she chose that particular book.

So today is day 11. Tonight's book:

Other titles so far have included:
The Little Engine That Could
Church Mouse Stories
He Bear, She Bear
Ten Little Rabbits
Green Eggs and Ham
Baby Mickey's Book of Opposites
Piglet Does a Very Grand Thing
And Little Critter When I Get Bigger.

I have to say the best part is seeing the looks on their faces as they open the book. Its amazing to watch them get so excited to have new stories to read.

Dart insists on going to bed with the new book and reading it until he falls asleep. Generally, that means that Arielle gets to go to bed with the book from the night before.

Thanks for the great gift Grandma!

Litteral much???

Last night I made some very yummy turkey meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner.I mean it smelled good through the entire cooking process. I was super excited to eat...

However, Dart and Arielle weren't as excited as I was.

It could be because they just don't understand the joy of food like I do.

Then again, it could be that they both ate 3 large bowls of  mac and cheese for lunch.

Either way they DEVOURED their mashed potatoes like they were going out of style. The meat loaf....well not so much. I really don't know why. I swear it was GOOD!

Finally after 20 or so minutes of trying to convince Dart that he needed to try his meat loaf the conversation went a bit like this:

Me: "Son, are you going to finish your dinner?"

Dart: "Can I have more potatoes?"

Me: "After your eat some meat loaf I'll get you some more"

Arielle: "More?"

Me: "You guys just aren't going to touch your meatloaf are you?"

It was at this point in the conversation when Dart reached down and poked a big hole into his meatloaf with his index finger.

He then looked at me with a completely straight face and said: "There mom. I touched my meat. Can I have some more potatoes please?"

It was at this point that I realized I had completely lost the entire conversation for the evening. I gave both kids some more mashed potatoes and we went on our way.

I think it is safe to say that my kids are WAY, WAY, WAY to smart for their own good and I am completely sunk for the rest of my life!

A sick princess and a sweet talker

Arielle has been sick this week. This is the first time that she has ever come down with something like this and let me tell you it has not been a walk in the park.(Not that I expected sickness to be)

She has had a cough that has made her sound like a baby barking seal. And to top it off she has had no voice. Any time she tried to talk she sounded like a squeaky little mouse. On on hand it is SUPER CUTE! But on the other hand I felt horrible about it. There is nothing worse than having your sweet baby sick and nothing you can do about it.

However, she is feeling much better today. The cough is almost gone and it looks like she will be in the clear soon....except for the 2 teeth that are coming in.

Recently Dartanion has decided that the best way to get what he wants it to sweet talk me. The conversations usually go something like this:

Me: "Bedtime is coming up soon. Just be prepared.
Dart: "Can I watch just one more show please?"
Me: "Sure I think there is time for that."
Dart: "Thanks mom! You're so pretty! Very pretty!"

Needless to say the kid usually gets to watch just one or two more shows! He even manages to get a candy here ant there when he sneaks in a kiss once or twice!

Growing up....

Arielle is growing up fast. Just yesterday a neighbor commented on how she isn't looking like a baby anymore and she is really starting to look like a little girl. On one hand I'm excited to see this transition but on the other hand I am a bit sad. Within the last week her little personality has really started to come through. She is so funny. She does some of the silliest things then she will laugh at herself. The way she interacts with Dart is amazing as well. It's neat to see them finally communicating with each other.

Some days are good and some days she is still a little fussy but I supposed that's the life of a 15 month old isn't it.


Dartanion made an announcement this afternoon. While walking to bed he made a comment about how many kids there were on a show I was watching (19 Kids and Counting) I told him, "Ya they have  a lot of brothers and sisters."

He stopped and said to me, "Mom, I need one brother and two more sisters. I am already a brother but I need to be one again."

I just looked at him and smiled. I guess we will just have to wait and see what God has planned for us, won't we?

Big brother burdens and a playdate

Last night while we were getting ready for bed Dart, Arielle and I were practicing saying fun words.Throughout the course of this Dart would say something silly and then Arielle would try to copy him.  After a few minutes he looked at me and said, "Mommy, sister likes to copy me doesn't she?"

I replied, :"Yes son she does. She watches you and see's what you do. When you make good choices she see that and she will try to make good choices too."

He continued on half playing with toys and half picking them up and putting them away. Finally, after watching Arielle follow him into the closet where the toy boxes are he came back to me and he said, "I need to make good choices more so sister will to. Its an important job to do."

If only he can hold on to that thought as they grow. Please continue to be a good example for your sister to follow.


Today Dart and Arielle had a friend come over to play. For 2 whole hours Dart got to share his toys with someone a bit closer to his own age. Arielle tried to play with them as well but between needing a nap and just not feeling well she spent more time following me around than actually playing with the toys.

During said playdate Dart and S saved the world from the bad guys, raced through the house to see who was fastest, and downed and entire box of mac and cheese. It was the most fun that he has had in a very long time.

When it was time for S to go home it was like Dart's whole world was crashing down. Nevermind, that S just lives next door and that we see her several times a week.Or the fact that he was over at her house just yesterday for 2 hours. No, when he had to say good by today his world came crashing down.


Then again, maybe it was because as soon as she left it was time for a nap.

Dart and S watching Wild Kratts

Name change and new direction

When I started this blog I did so with the encouragement from my mother. On an almost daily basis I was calling her to tell her of something else funny that Collin had done or said. It was getting hard to remember all that he was doing and as much as I was trying to I just couldn't keep up with it all, even on facebook. Not only was Collin way to smart for his own good but I was also very pregnant with Raelynn and we were preparing to make a life changing move.

So with that, the original "Epic Adventures of my Genius Son" was born. And then RaeLynn was born, we moved cities, states, and time zones and I got busy. I have been VERY bad at keeping up with writing and recording what has been going on with my amazing little man. And for that I apologize to those of you who looked forward to reading what crazy shenanigans Collin was getting himself into in our new little world.

Once RaeLynn started getting active and somewhat verbal my mom reminded me that I would need to start a blog for her as well since all the world would want to know what she was up to also. And I hated to admit that she was right. I just kept thinking, "I don't have time for the 2 blogs I currently have. How am I going to create and maintain another one?"

So I came up with a brilliant plan. I'm not. For the most part everything that goes on around here takes place with both of them participating anyway so why not combine the two and make it a bit easier. Thus the new title and direction of this particular blog has been established.

My goal is to update on the kids at least 2 times a week but I'm not going to make any promises. Sometimes the post will be about something they have both done together and sometimes I might post 2 stories in one day to give each one a bit of spotlight. Either way, it will all be right here!

I hope that the stories I am going to be able to tell will help to lighten up your day and keep you updated as Collin and RaeLynn, or better yet, Dart and Arielle as they will now be known, (mostly because I think its fun to call Collin Dart and so does his grandpa!) grow and learn in this crazy world.

The Many Faces of Collin.

Late one night I was sitting up and I came across an album my mom has on her Facebook page. It was titled: The Many Faces of Collin.

And that got me thinking: And I decided we should all see the many faces of Collin for ourselves!

Collin's Favorites

While I was sitting down getting some work done I over heard a conversation between Collin and daddy today that was really fun to listen to. The conversation was all about what were Collin's favorite things.

This is what I learned are Collin's favorites:

Color: Blue and Pink
Food: Chicken Nuggets and French Fries
Drink: Tea and Apple Juice
Toy: Superman and ALL his Ninja Turtle toys
TV Show: Spiderman
Movie: Superman (Man of Steel, he just saw that in the theaters for the first time Saturday Night.)
Friend: Jackson and Jack
Underwear (don't ask me why this question came up): Superman and Batman
Sport: Baseball and Football
Place to go: A movie theater and wal-mart ( this kid is nuts!)
Time of day: Bed time (I don't think I really believe that one!)
Story: Superhero story and Batman story
Bible Story: David and Goliath
Candy: Superman

After hearing this conversation I realized that I need to spend more time talking with my amazing kid. I already knew a lot of these things but to be honest there are several on that list that I had no idea about. Stay tuned as I continue to add to this list in the next few days!

An afternoon with Daddy

This afternoon, due to unforeseen circumstances, Dusty came home early. He was actually home by about 3 P.M. This was right after Collin woke up from his nap. When he saw daddy walk into the house he was the happiest boy in the entire world.

The schedule for the afternoon was a busy one.

We started with a snack while daddy ate his lunch (he hadn't had a chance to eat yet.)
From there we watched a few T.V shows and relaxed.
Once we got the TV out of our system it was time for me to start cleaning up the kitchen and getting ready for dinner.
That made a perfect opportunity for daddy and Collin to play.
First they caught all the bad guys in the livingroom and got rid of them.
After that they needed to make sure all the bad guys were out of his room.
A hard battle was fought but in the end the dynamic duo of Collin and daddy prevailed!
With the bad guys taken care up then it was time to color.
A brand new superman picture colored by the team is now hanging in the bedroom.

Finally it was time for dinner. Spaghetti and veggies! Yum!
 Bath time immediately followed due to the fact that spaghetti sauce was EVERYWHERE!

The day was topped off with some more snuggling while watching cartoons and a bed time story. All in all I have to say that Collin had a really great afternoon with Daddy.

(I'm not sure who will sleep better after all the adventures but I now they are both pretty tired!)

Happy Birthday to Collin

Well its official. Collin is 3 years old. How that happened I will never know. It seems like just the other day I was rocking him to sleep praying I could get a nap in at some point..


But now here he is:
3 years old
3 feet tall
30 pounds....

wow thats a lot of 3's.

Seriously though he is a great kid. He is happy most of the time. Independent, some time too much so. And he is way to smart for his own good. I love having conversations with him because I never know what is going to come up next.

So in short: I LOVE THIS KID!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLLIN!

Lunch time

Today Collin got to practice being a good example. With sister's birthday right around the corner I have been incorporating her in meal times a lot more.  So today when Collin asked if we could eat at his little table for lunch I said sure why not.

Instead of putting RaeLynn in the walker or swing I let her sit at the table with us. 
Collin was the best big brother. He showed her how to sit in her chair and he stayed in his seat the whole time.  He even helped her to be ok with taking her food off her plate.

More and more each day Collin grows into a great and loving big brother!

I think we have it!

What is it?

Potty training.

It has been an interesting process and I'm not saying we are out of the woods completely but I can deffinately see the other side of the forrest.

The unspoken, unofficial goal to be potty trained before 3 was met!

Fishing

Today Collin got to do something he has been begging todo for months now.

Today Collin went fishing! And he absolutely loved it. It was the cutest thing ever to watch him.

He couldn't really get the hang of the casting so either daddy or gramps would cast it out and then Collin would real it back in.

After a little while he decided to take a break from the fishing so I took his shoes off and let him walk in the water. That lasted for about 5 seconds until he started sinking in the sand. That was NOT what he signed up for!  So out of the water and on to his towel he went where he spent the next hour tossing rocks in to the lake.

To say that he was exhausted when we left would be an understatement. He was asleep in his car seat before we even left the lake!

Captian America and John Wayne

When my brother, Sam, who is now 20 years old, was somewhere around Dartanion's age he absolutely loved all things cowboy, First and foremost on that list was John Wayne. Sam wanted so badly to meet John Wayne and ask him all kinds of questions only a 2-3 yr old could ask.

Sam always wanted to know why John Wayne had to die before Sam was able to meet him. He often asked this question of my mother somewhere around 2 in the morning. The conversation, from the way my mom tells it, usually went something like this:

Sam: Mommy, why did John Wayne have to die?

Mom: Because he woke his mommy up at 2 in the morning to ask questions.

Sam: No, that's not it. He died of natural causes.

I for one, tended to find that story rather cute and a little funny. Until I had a 2 year old of my own.

Fast forward 18 or so years and here we are. I have a lively, energetic little boy who has an infatuation of his own. Oh its not cowboys, no...its Superheros. And my dear sweet little boy has figured out all the cool actions that each superhero does.

So now, at 2 AM, the conversations tend to go a bit like this:

D: Mommy, what does Captain America do?

Me: He listens to his mommy and goes to sleep.

D: NO! Captain American spins his shield.

*Just enough silence for me to get almost back asleep*

D: Mommy, what does Superman do?

Me: He gets his rest so he can save the world

D: NO! Superman flies.

And so on. And so on until we have gotten all the way through the range of superheros.

So, now that I'm the mom, can I just say, maybe the stories aren't really all the cute.....or are they?????

Potty Training Update!

I am in shock!

Day 1 was as expected. We had a few accidents. We had a few successful trips to the potty chair but all in all it was looking like this might be a long process.

And then yesterday, a few more successful trips in the morning and then the fight at nap time. I wanted to just put a pull up on him for nap.Dart was having nothing to do with that. He wanted to say in his superman underwear. So, with a sigh and the thought that I would surely be changing his sheets before bed I laid him down for his nap.

Fast forward 2 hours. Nap time is over and here comes a sleepy eyed little boy down the stairs. I go to check to see how wet he was....and....NOTHING. Dry as could be. I was so proud. We had an accident or two in the afternoon but that was mostly my fault because I didn't get him to the bathroom fast enough since I was getting ready to go to class.

And here we are today. This morning while I was getting his coloring pages ready to go we had an accident. One that I wasn't looking forward to cleaning up, if you catch my drift. And then when we were done with our school lessons for the day it was time to go down stairs and hang out. As I was cleaning the kitchen Collin ran in and says to me "Mommy, I want an oreo." (The treat of choice when he goes to the potty)

I tell him, "You know you have to pee pee in the potty to get an oreo."

Dart disappers...2 minutes later

"Mommy I need an oreo please."

"You know you have to pee pee first"

"But Mommy I did!!"

I head to the bathroom and sure enough the potty chair bowl is FULL!! He went in and went to the potty all by himself so he could have his oreo. I know that this doesn't mean we are done with this process but I do know we are at least on the right track!

Grocery Shopping.....

 While putting away the groceries the other day I came across an interesting item. Sitting there in a bag in between the 2 boxes of cereal was a box of Quaker Medium Barley.  I picked up the box and walked into the living room where Dusty was playing with the kids.

I asked, "Dusty, did you pick this up at the store?"

"Pick up what?" with out looking at me

"This box of barley. Did you mean to get something else?"
At that he finally looks at me.

"No. You eat that kind of stuff not me. I thought you bought it."

Finally, after watching Dusty and I having this conversations a small voice behind us says. "I just got it at Wal-Mart."

We turned around and showed Dart the box. I said, "Son, did you put this in the basket while we were shopping yesterday?"

He replies, with the proudest look a 2 year old can have, "Yes mommy. I got it at Wal-Mart"

So apparently we will be having barley soup sometime in the near future. Thanks for helping mommy shop!

Advent Activities Overview

With the rush of the holidays and life in general I got REALLY behind, like stopped altogether, on posting about the daily Advent activities. I know that everyone would love to see how the rest of it turned out so I will give a brief overview of how the rest of the activities ended up. I will say that I had a lot of fun with this even if Dart got a bit bored with it in the end. We didn't do all the activities but we did do most.

I will just start with the last day.

DAY 7 String popcorn garland;

 This Day was fun. Most of the popcorn got eaten by Mr. Dart but we did manage to make a nice little string of popcorn. By the time I decided I was done Dart also decided he wasn't going to want dinner. I also realized I didn't really want to have to find a place to put the garland up so instead I put it ouside for the birds to have something to eat.

DAY 8 Make Paper Trees

 This day was simple. I just made a few little trees and Collin got to put sequence and stickers on them. Then I cut a slit in them for them to stack together. We only got 2 made because Dart lost interest halfway through.






DAY 9 LOOK AT CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Pretty self explanatory. We drove around a few places in Arlington after dinner on Sunday night. We had been out all day so the kids were asleep in the back seat for a while but Dart did wake up and see some of the bigger displays we saw.  He would point and say "More Christmas Lights!" At every house we say. And as we drove past Six Flags on the way home and saw the roller coasters all lit up and the Superman symbol shining brightly Dart exclaimed "Superman Christmas lights!!!"


DAY 10 PAINT ORNAMENTS

Washable paint, paint brushes and the ornament. Dart was a happy camper. The colors got mixed, and a mess was made but they are a treasure I will keep for a lifetime. I'm really not sure how he ended up with paint in his hair and ears but somehow he did. Needless to say, bath time followed quickly after this.





DAY 11 PLAY IN THE SNOW
Didn't happen. No snow. The other option was to play in shaving cream but we didn't get around to it. Grocery shopping and spending quality time with dad happened instead.

DAY 12 MAKE RICE CRISPY TREATS
Dart helped measure an pour. Treats were made, and eaten with in 3 short hours. WE LOVE RICE KRISPY TREAT!!!


DAY 13 MAKE GINGERBREAD HOUSE
Due to the pieces in the box being broken when we opened it up this one didn't get done either. :(

DAY 14 MAKE GIFTS FOR FAMILY.
Dart helped me to make hot cocoa mix for us to take when we went to see Grammie and Papa. He poured the chocolate chips into the container and he got to help smash the candy canes with a hammer to add to the mix. I think he had a little to much fun with that part.

DAY 15 CHRISTMAS SCAVENGER HUNT.
Didn't happen. Not sure why.

DAY 16 VISIT SANTA
Santa came to visit us at church on this Sunday. The kids got to make a lovely little ornament and they also got to enjoy hotdogs and cookies with Santa. We even got to take a picture with him and Mrs. Clause!

DAY 17 BUILD WOODEN LOCKER WITH DADDY
oops....forgot to buy the nails. So that will be a summer time project I guess. The locker came from a family night activity at one of the Chick-Fil-A's close to us.

DAY 18 PLAY WITH CHRISTMAS PLAY-DOUGH

A ministry that provides the seminary students with food each Tuesday also provided gifts for the kids for Christmas. Those were distributed to us on this day. So instead of playing with play dough we opened the gifts.








DAY 19 BAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Sugar cookies to be exact. We got about 2 dozen made. They were yummy. Dart got to help roll out the dough and he used the cookie cutters to cut out the shapes.

DAY 20 DECORATE THE COOKIES
Dart decided we didn't need to decorate the cookies. So we didn't. Less mess for me!

DAY 21 PAINT WITH COOKIE CUTTER
Due to the fact that I was trying to get our house ready to go so we could leave for Grammie's house on Sunday this did not take place.

DAY 22 RENT A CHRISTMAS MOVIE AND EAT POPCORN.
We just watched fun movies on Netflix while we ate dinner. Dart wasn't really into the Christmas movies. Maybe with time.....

DAY 23 AND 24 were cancelled due to our plans for Christmas changing midway though this process. Instead we drove to Grammie's house and we spent 4 wonderful days there.

So there you have it. Our Christmas Activities Advent Calendar. Hopefully I learned a few lessons this year and will be better prepared for the coming years!