Weather contrast

Last week we had a 70 degree day. It was out of the blue and it was amazing. The car washes were packed, the parks were packed and there numerous smiles! We checked out a new park and soaked up the vitamin D. Ahhhhhh, it was so nice!

Now, a week later we are playing in snow! The kids had their snowball fights, school delays and fun. What a great winter. It has been so full of surprises! 

All about "Mia"

Just wanted to record some things about this big girl.  She has really grown into her own person.  She loves to dress up still.  She has about 15 costumes of all arrays and is known to transformer numerous times during the day.  Maleah enjoys playing cars, legos and swords with Noah, but also enjoys her barbies, dolls and make up.  The perfect mix.  She is very strong willed.  She know what she wants and will do anything to get it.  She has a sweet tooth.  She loves art and music.  She likes to walk through the house dressed as ELSA from Frozen and perform "Let it go".  She will put on her tutu and dance ballet in the living room.  She quit napping at age two, but still really needs one.  She wakes up at 6:30 most mornings and that is when the rest of the world must wake too.  She is partially potty trained, but has no desire to be bribed or talked into the other 50% of it.  Ideas need to be her's and she will do it herself.  When she is upset, she loves to fake cry.  Acting may be in her distant future.  Time out or "break time" is something she frequents.  She is quick to love you on her terms.  She wants to be just like big brother.  She can't wait to go to school next year and has requested that we put her in dance.  She loves her long hair and is very protective of it-approved trims only! She enjoys doing school work at home.  She likes starbucks dates with mom.  She loves jokes, especially anything to do with farting or her woopy cushion. (Thanks to the boys in the house) She wears a size 5/6. Weighs roughly 35lbs. Likes her nails painted pink. Still sucks her thumb and carries the blankie aka "the web" around everywhere.  She rides her yellow kitty bike with training wheels and her grin is priceless. She can be addicted to technology if she has it her way.  She is a blessing.  She melts my heart with her random "I love you mom" lines.  She has a smile that reflects the sun.  She only answers you if you call her "mia," as she has informed us that Maleah is not what she likes to me called.
"Mia" keeps us on our toes and brightens my day.  I love having her home with me this year and the time I get to share with her.

The Artist

 Maleah really enjoys painting and drawing these days.  I love when she decides to make a masterpiece!  The picture below is suppose to be of me.  I think it is close resemblance, don't you?

Nana visits

It never gets old having this wonderful lady visit! It is always a treat to have my mom visit. The kids also love their nana time. 

We had an eventful visit this time including hosting Noah's 6th birthday with 14 kids! Nana was a huge help orchestrating this event. Of course their was lots of coffee drinking, chatting and crafting. The kids got their snuggles and special time. Noah even had school delays every day she was here!

I miss being near my family so much. At least when nana comes to visit she brings a slice of home! Thank you for visiting nana!

Family Divided

Maybe this is our problem….can ducks and beavers really get along?  I guess time will tell.  But, for now the ducks still have them out numbered!

Keepsake from Christmas

The kids made t-shirts to remember their time together.  It was fun to see their creativity come out!

Merry Christmas from NJ!

This year we were able to spend Christmas for the first time with the whole Parker-Gates clan!  It was very special.  Grandma and Grandpa flew in and we were able to drive over to Aunt Chrystal's house.  The cousins had non-stop fun for four days!  We had a very relaxing Christmas Eve and then Christmas morning was action packed.  As you can see, there was a lot of work to do under that tree.  Santa also left a nice little stash in a treasure box for the kids to dig through! We sure enjoyed all the food and fun!

Kids opening their stocking gifts from the treasure box

Grandma and Grandpa opened their custom towels with the kids art work

Christmas Eve PJs

Every year Grandma Parker works many hours to make custom pjs for each of the grandkids.  This is something I especially look forward to.  She puts so much time and effort into them; you can just feel the love radiate out of them!  This year was a very special Christmas because we were all able to be together.  It was so much fun to watch them open them all up and I think they went very well.  The kids put them right on as soon as they opened them!  

Annual thank you photo shoot

Part of the Parker tradition in this house is to take thank you photos for our thank you cards.  Here is a sneak peak of what we got.  The kids did a great job and there were certainly too many to pick from!

Gingerbread houses

It's not too often that maleah and I get to volunteer in Noah's class together. Yesterday we got to help them make gingerbread houses. It was so much fun. I think noah especially enjoyed the fact that we were there. And Maleah loved being like the big kids. Needless to say there was lots of candy eating, frosting wearing and smiles. I feel so blessed to be a stay at home mom that can be apart of my kids special school moments. This is what I have been waiting for!

New Bikes

For Maleah's 3rd birthday and our move we had promised the kids new bikes.  (That was 6 months ago!)  Then the summer went flying by and they started asking where their bikes were…so here they are!  They are loving every second and it is great to see them playing together!  

1st Haircut

I feel like the parent of extremes!  Noah had his first haircut at 2 months old and now Maleah is having her's at…wait for it…3 YEARS old!  It has been a process in the making with a failed attempt and lots of bribery.  Maleah was convinced that haircuts where only for boys (even though My hair is shoulder length and she sees me get it done) and it was not going to happen for her!  We spent  a couple of weeks prepping her about the "trim" she would receive and how wonderful she will look.  Oh, and she got a couple of My little pony toys.  Whatever works.  She did it, and it was  such a great experience! 

Thanksgiving 2014

This year we drove to NJ to spend Thanksgiving with Aunt Chrystal, Uncle Greg and the cousins.  It was an eventful 3 days, not just for all the playing the kids did, but because it snowed!  They made a snowman, threw some snowballs, and did some sledding.  It was really a site to see the fun that they were having.  And, on top of all the fun, we had lots of great food!

Maleah's version of sledding

Uncle Dave and the kiddos

Game night: kids vs parents.  Any guesses on who won?