The Last Day

Dylan's last day of his first year of school was yesterday. He officially finished his first year of preschool and I was a little emotional about it. First, I can't believe that I have a child old enough for school. It seems like only yesterday I was cuddling his tiny little newborn-ness in my arms. Ahhhh.... how time flies.

Here he is on his first day of preschool back in September...

And here he is on his last day with his teacher, Mrs. Lobb.... We LOOOOOVE her, by the way....




And, just because I feel like reminiscing, lets take a look back at Dylan's journey to this point....

On a hot, humid, November evening in Charleston, SC this little bundle of love came ino my life and I can hardly believe that almost 4 years has passed since I became a mommy. He has completely changed my life and I have loved every minute of it. Well... lets be honest here.... maybe not loved "EVERY" minute... but probably about 99.9% of the minutes :)

Isn't he so darn cute?

I need therapy

So, most people who know my family know my child's obsession with Caillou. It is an addiction, really. We record it on our DVR because Dylan likes to watch it at very random times (and I have to admit, Caillou is an excellent babysitter while I take a shower/put a load of clothes in/or check my email). Well, I have always been annoyed by Caillou... his whiny voice, his lack of manners, he is four and still bald... does he have a medical condition or what? What is up with the hair thing?

Anyways... back to my point. Caillou is annoying, yes. But my children love him. In fact, Dylan started telling us things he used to do when he was "little". Well, we started to realize that Dylan's stories were a little more than a 3 year old imagination. They were things that happened to Caillou. I can look past that, too.

My new annoyance with this show is that I am starting to compare myself to Caillou's mommy. Why? I don't know. It is disturbing, honestly. I start to feel guilty that I can't pretend to be a doctor while I put a band aid on his knee after he gets hurt. Caillou's mommy does it. I do have a 1 year old at my feet, screaming at me or trying to open the band aids or honestly he was dunking his toys in the toilet while I am trying to console a frantic 3 year old that screams when he sees his own blood. So... needless to say, I wasn't pretending to be a doctor while I tried to bandage my son. I was yelling at my 1 year old, pleading with my 3 year old to stop screaming and trying not to break into tears out of pure frustration with myself.

I think I need therapy. After all... she isn't real! She is a cartoon! I tell myself that every time I think, "What would Caillou's mommy do about this?"

T-Ball Season

The little Baseball Player... so unbelievably adorable!



Getting tips from Daddy...



Up to bat... he takes it so seriously!



Waiting for the action in the outfield.

Up to bat and running home...

Oh, Boyardee how I love thee....

Oh, canned pasta, how I love thee... let me count the ways...

I, personally, can't stand Spaghetti Oh's. I don't like the smell or the taste, but Oh how my children love them. I need to start with a little background. When my first son was around 1 he started eating "big people food", but I would obsess about what he ate. Every bite of anything he ate would be documented in my head. I must explain, though.... He weighed 5lbs 11 oz when he was born and has always been so small and scrawny. He is the pickiest of picky eaters. He gagged at the taste of lettuce when he was 1. Honestly... he would shiver at just the smell of food at that age. He would keep a bite of pancakes in his mouth until it was liquefied and then it would dribble out the sides of his mouth until I would finally let him spit it out. He had the strangest eating habits. The only thing he liked to eat was steak... and soda (THANKS GRANDPA!!!!). He orders his own steak at restaurants... a 3 year old ordering a steak "medium"!!!!! It's weird!

Anyways, I would NEVER make him Mac and Cheese, sometimes hot dogs, anything frozen or canned would rarely be on his plate. I would obsess (and I mean OBSESS about what he ate... my mom is probably nodding her head violently in agreement right now) about every meal. We would count the bites he took and most meals would end with me in tears and him with a bite of whatever was prepared liquefying in his mouth as he got down to play.

Well... times have changed. Baby number 2 came along. A lot less time for me to prepare foods. My parents and husband constantly telling me to "Chill Out" about the eating. So... ok... I chilled out. I bought a can of Spaghetti Oh's and put it in the pantry. One day came along and it was lunch time and I was stressed and on edge and I decided that was what we were having for lunch (assuming they were going to hate it, I thought... "Well, at least it only took 30 seconds to prepare"). I was wrong... they loved it. They asked for more. They ate the whole can. Everyday at lunch time Dylan asked for spaghetti and meat balls... No, not the healthy kind... the canned, processed, trans fat kind. So, I gave in. Little by little. Now I buy 4 cans a week at the store. I serve it with peas or apples or carrot sticks so that I feel better about them getting a tiny bit of nutrition... but lets be honest... they don't eat more than one or two bites of the good stuff.

So, now mac and cheese occasionally comes around our table... hot dogs, corn dogs, Dino chicken nuggets.... What has happened to me? This is what I was working so hard to prevent!!! I bought cookbooks and food processors that pureed our veggies into little sandwich bags that I put into turkey burgers... turkey meatballs... spaghetti sauce. I would go through cookbooks to pick out our recipes for the week and shop accordingly.... Now I rush to the store, breeze through the aisles getting the same stuff I bought last week because i know they will eat it. (and not throw it at each other).

What happens when baby #3 comes along? What will they be eating then? I am scared!

While Mommy is away.... things get weird

Tonight I left to run an errand minutes after my husband got home from work. I told him the kids were ready for to eat dinner and left. I returned an hour and a half later and found...


This was "Take One"...
"Dylan, SMILE!!!! Daddy, Stop posing like you are still in the military!!!"

This was "Take Two". Notice their matching outfits, or "uniform of the day". By the way, when I left they were not wearing that!

And then there was Liam...

Crazy times. A lot of fun is had when Mommy leaves.

Self Imposed

Dylan got in trouble for being mean to his brother (he actually pushed him off the picnic table while outside eating snacks). He got scolded and put into the corner for 4 minutes of timeout. The microwave timer was set and we went about our business while Dylan whimpered in the corner. I look over to see how much time he has left, and saw that Liam had scooted his own chair to the timeout corner. He honestly wants to do EVERYTHING his older brother does... even if it involves punishment! What do we do when Liam is ready for timeout? It obviously wont be punishment for him. Help!

Maybe the old Heidi is still in there somewhere...

Ok... so, we are moving into our new house soon and I was packing some stuff in the garage and found this picture hidden under mounds of stuff we piled into a box in one of our 10 million military moves. I stared at it for awhile... admiring my thin arms, tiny waist, skinny face... I almost couldn't believe I actually looked like that at one time. I was 17 and about to be escorted in the Homecoming Assembly at school. (It's nice to see a visual reminder of the Heidi before children, or "B.C." as my mom and I call it) I am the one in the maroon dress in the middle, by the way, in case you don't recognize me.

But then I started thinking more deeply about the situation. Sometimes I forget there even was a Heidi before children. What did I do for fun? What music did I like? What was it like to sleep in till noon? I mostly like to reminisce about shopping "B.C." . I could browse through isles for hours, try on everything I had in my hand, and do it all without yelling "Come back here right now or I will strap you into this stroller!"... or replenishing fishy crackers on stroller trays after every isle (and then stepping on them and acting like I didn't just crush 10 fish crackers under my feet in the middle of a department store as we walk by).

But the thing that got me the most is that not only do I barely remember what Heidi was like "B.C.", but I forget what I looked like, too. I was afraid that pregnancy and childbirth had altered my body to a point that I was barely recognizable. I would give my right arm for a flat stomach again. Well... maybe my left arm, I still need to be able to write and open jars and stuff. Anyways, I was so worried about this that I then went straight to the backyard where my husband and children were mowing the lawn and put the picture in front of them and asked, "Which one is Mommy?". There was a moment of silence, then they both pointed right to tiny, little, perky Heidi right in the middle of the picture. Whew!!!!

Ok... so I am much different now than in High School. I can't shop for hours in silence without watching the clock and worrying about getting back to the chaos. I can't sleep in till noon. I don't have a flat stomach anymore. BUT..... I do have to say that I am a lot more selfless and my life is filled with hugs, kisses, and the most wonderful company a girl could ask for. And of course in true good husband fashion, my husband said that he prefers how I look now. Hmmm... I don't believe him one bit, but it's nice to hear. Thanks, babe!

Easter Sunday

My adorable little guys all dressed in their Sunday best.



Liam



Dylan



They were actually standing still... together... and not fighting!!! It was an Easter miracle!

DisneyWorld!!!!!

Last week we took an amazing vacation to Orlando and spent a week in Disneyworld. It was so much fun and so.... exhausting! We had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Chris and Kaylee. We can't wait for the next Christiansen Family Extravaganza!

Our New House

We bought a new house! It is also our first house and we are so excited. Our real estate agent carted us all around Visalia (Thanks, Leah!), showing us absolutely everything for sale and we finally chose a new home that was almost done being built. Right now the counter tops and floors and fixtures are being put in. I can't wait to move in now.