Esther in the dryer : )
The movie star ...
Esther and her friend playing in her tent in our living room ...
A beautiful Texas sunset
Jesse playing on the floor. Too cute to pick just one!
Aw cute ...
Queen Esther and her Play-Doh crown!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Potty Trained! Esther Update
Well, I think I can officially say that Esther is potty trained! For about the last six months, Esther has gone back and forth between diapers, training undies, and pull-ups. She had good potty days and bad potty days. Right after Jesse was born, she had a stomach virus which seemed to set her back in the potty department.
But about a week ago, I think it clicked!! We switched her back to only the cloth training undies and she has done great. Not only that, her pull-up is usually dry after naps and even nighttime (unless Mommy takes too long to hear her in the morning!). This biggest motivator of all has been ...
New big girl panties!! : )
I let her pick from about six different "character" panties at the store. She finally chose the Princess panties, as she has lately developed a thing for princesses. (What can I say? She is my daughter, after all, although I have not intentionally encouraged it and we don't really watch the Disney movies.) She is super excited, and she showed the package to everyone at the store when we bought them.
It really is amazing. It's like something just switched, and the potty went from being a struggle for her to remember or to make it in time to being no big deal. And even on the "big girl potty" - with no potty seat - instead of her little training potty. It's great!
In other news ... Esther has been very excited about money lately. I guess most kids are excited about this stuff that their parents use to buy them cool things, but it just kicked in for Esther in the last couple of months. So starting when Tyler paid Esther the $4 to eat asparagus and then $2 for taking a nap in the van when we went to Oklahoma, we are trying to teach her how to handle money. It may be too early, but why not start now with her $6? We designated $2 as money to give away (like at church), $2 to save, and $2 to spend. (All this is per Dave Ramsey's ideas for kids.)
It seemed to work great! Esther is excited about taking her $2 to church and she was super excited to take $2 to the store today to spend. Here is what she bought:
Esther was super excited about the Play-Doh and kept talking about how she played with Play-Doh at her friend Julia's house. Her $2 bought her two containers, and she picked yellow and white. We played with it before and after lunch today. We'll have to break it out with Papa later since Tyler is a true Play-Doh master!
Something else funny is that Esther called me "Sarah" yesterday! I know she hears Tyler and other people call me Sarah all the time, but she suddenly started saying it. She thought it was great, but Tyler explained to her that she calls me "mama." It was pretty cute.
And now it's time to get ready for some birthday fun... Yay!!
But about a week ago, I think it clicked!! We switched her back to only the cloth training undies and she has done great. Not only that, her pull-up is usually dry after naps and even nighttime (unless Mommy takes too long to hear her in the morning!). This biggest motivator of all has been ...
New big girl panties!! : )
I let her pick from about six different "character" panties at the store. She finally chose the Princess panties, as she has lately developed a thing for princesses. (What can I say? She is my daughter, after all, although I have not intentionally encouraged it and we don't really watch the Disney movies.) She is super excited, and she showed the package to everyone at the store when we bought them.
It really is amazing. It's like something just switched, and the potty went from being a struggle for her to remember or to make it in time to being no big deal. And even on the "big girl potty" - with no potty seat - instead of her little training potty. It's great!
In other news ... Esther has been very excited about money lately. I guess most kids are excited about this stuff that their parents use to buy them cool things, but it just kicked in for Esther in the last couple of months. So starting when Tyler paid Esther the $4 to eat asparagus and then $2 for taking a nap in the van when we went to Oklahoma, we are trying to teach her how to handle money. It may be too early, but why not start now with her $6? We designated $2 as money to give away (like at church), $2 to save, and $2 to spend. (All this is per Dave Ramsey's ideas for kids.)
It seemed to work great! Esther is excited about taking her $2 to church and she was super excited to take $2 to the store today to spend. Here is what she bought:
Play-Doh!!!!
Esther was super excited about the Play-Doh and kept talking about how she played with Play-Doh at her friend Julia's house. Her $2 bought her two containers, and she picked yellow and white. We played with it before and after lunch today. We'll have to break it out with Papa later since Tyler is a true Play-Doh master!
Something else funny is that Esther called me "Sarah" yesterday! I know she hears Tyler and other people call me Sarah all the time, but she suddenly started saying it. She thought it was great, but Tyler explained to her that she calls me "mama." It was pretty cute.
And now it's time to get ready for some birthday fun... Yay!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sibling Resemblance
For a fun comparison, here are a few pictures of Esther when she was about 4-8 months old. I thought she and Jesse looked totally different until Tyler and I were going through old pictures the other night. There is a sibling resemblance!!! Super excited about that!!!
This is Esther - I have totally seen Jesse with this expression ... and Esther still makes this face when she is thinking about something!
Well, Esther is about 8 months here. We were at Tyler's friend's wedding in Florida.
Not because she looks like Jesse, here but because it's so cute!!
This one looks like Jesse to me ... but I think it's the expression again. Maybe their expressions look alike?
Now here's a few of Jesse for comparison:
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
San Antonio, Etc.
The first big event currently un-posted is our trip to San Antonio last Monday and Tuesday! The main purpose of the trip was for Tyler to have TWO job interviews. (More about that in a moment.) I wanted to see the city, so the kids and I came along.
We left late Monday afternoon, and the drive was surprisingly beautiful. We detoured through a town called Fredericksburg because I heard it was really cute. Although we only stopped there to use the bathroom, it looks like a fun place to spend the weekend.
After we arrived, we found our way downtown to the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I confess that I am sadly lacking in my knowledge of Texas history. I definitely need to find out more about the Battle of the Alamo, but it was cool to see it anyway. And I loved the Riverwalk! We were there after dark, and I thought it was practically enchanting. The city reminded me a bit of Savannah with the old buildings, green squares, and the river. We also ate a late dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe right off the river. Esther loved the moving animals but was not so fond of the "thunder and lightening" show during dinner!
The next morning after breakfast, Tyler was off interviewing and Esther and I took advantage of the hotel swimming pool. There was a jacuzzi and a pool, and she wanted to go back and forth between the two. That made the pool feel super cold, but I played her game. Esther also made a friend, a little boy named Jude who was about 4 years old. I think Esther likes playing with little boys, and dare I say little boys a little older than she ... hmm, maybe Tyler should get that gun he's been wanting. ; ) And where was Jesse during all of this excitement? He was quite accommodating, napping in his car seat in the shade by the pool!
When Tyler returned, we left the hotel and went looking for something else fun to do ... and discovered the Childrens' Museum of San Antonio aka The Ball Factory. Tyler was super pumped about this place, but unfortunately Esther had crashed hard in her car seat after the late night and the morning at the pool. So we walked around and got some food at a cafe to try to let her recover enough to go play. Sadly, by the time she woke up, it was almost 5:00 and the museum was closing. Huge bummer!! But now we have an excuse to return.
I know the suspense about the job interviews must be approaching critical levels, so here goes ... we don't know anything yet! Well, one interview was the most bizarre job interview of Tyler's life - which is saying a lot. The owner of the company that interviewed him was a bit crazy, and when he was driving Tyler around the job site they were almost run over by a monster sized dump truck. The other interview was for a job here in San Angelo. That one seems promising, but Tyler hasn't received an offer yet. So, more on that story as it develops. : )
In other news, Esther has started a new phase of asking "what's that?" about everything! It is really fun that she is becoming so curious and is able to understand many of my responses.
Also, the other night Tyler was leading Esther in praying to Jesus when she asked, "Where's Jesus?" Honestly, I'm surprised that question hadn't come up yet. We had told her before that Jesus is in her heart, but I still thought she would wonder where this guy is that we talk to all the time and ask for help when she has a boo-boo. Tyler told her again that Jesus is in her heart, and she was fine with that. Oh, how we are praying to build and strengthen her faith and not diminish it in our own weakness!
Jesse is doing great, too. : ) He is a champion sleeper, although he does now require his head snuggled against the corner of the crib (or a reasonable substitute) to fall asleep.
We also had a fun water play-day with some of our friends here. Esther had a blast in the kiddie swimming pools, especially the one with a built-in slide. It is so fun for her to have friends, and she talks about these kids constantly! It is fun for me to have friends too, especially these ladies that are so passionate about raising their children to serve the Lord.
More soon, since I'm playing catch up ...
We left late Monday afternoon, and the drive was surprisingly beautiful. We detoured through a town called Fredericksburg because I heard it was really cute. Although we only stopped there to use the bathroom, it looks like a fun place to spend the weekend.
After we arrived, we found our way downtown to the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I confess that I am sadly lacking in my knowledge of Texas history. I definitely need to find out more about the Battle of the Alamo, but it was cool to see it anyway. And I loved the Riverwalk! We were there after dark, and I thought it was practically enchanting. The city reminded me a bit of Savannah with the old buildings, green squares, and the river. We also ate a late dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe right off the river. Esther loved the moving animals but was not so fond of the "thunder and lightening" show during dinner!
Tyler and Esther in front of the Alamo
Esther in the stroller at the Riverwalk, although you can't see it
Me and Jesse
At the Riverwalk. This is the first ever picture of all four of us!!!
Tyler and Esther at Rain Forest Cafe
Jesse hanging out while we ate our dinner
The next morning after breakfast, Tyler was off interviewing and Esther and I took advantage of the hotel swimming pool. There was a jacuzzi and a pool, and she wanted to go back and forth between the two. That made the pool feel super cold, but I played her game. Esther also made a friend, a little boy named Jude who was about 4 years old. I think Esther likes playing with little boys, and dare I say little boys a little older than she ... hmm, maybe Tyler should get that gun he's been wanting. ; ) And where was Jesse during all of this excitement? He was quite accommodating, napping in his car seat in the shade by the pool!
When Tyler returned, we left the hotel and went looking for something else fun to do ... and discovered the Childrens' Museum of San Antonio aka The Ball Factory. Tyler was super pumped about this place, but unfortunately Esther had crashed hard in her car seat after the late night and the morning at the pool. So we walked around and got some food at a cafe to try to let her recover enough to go play. Sadly, by the time she woke up, it was almost 5:00 and the museum was closing. Huge bummer!! But now we have an excuse to return.
Esther wanted us to make her a play bed in a drawer ...
Because Jesse slept in a drawer for real! (On the floor, don't worry)
Esther was a good sport about the drive
And Jesse rocks the sunglasses!
Tyler had to take a wee nap in the McDonald's parking lot before driving home
I know the suspense about the job interviews must be approaching critical levels, so here goes ... we don't know anything yet! Well, one interview was the most bizarre job interview of Tyler's life - which is saying a lot. The owner of the company that interviewed him was a bit crazy, and when he was driving Tyler around the job site they were almost run over by a monster sized dump truck. The other interview was for a job here in San Angelo. That one seems promising, but Tyler hasn't received an offer yet. So, more on that story as it develops. : )
In other news, Esther has started a new phase of asking "what's that?" about everything! It is really fun that she is becoming so curious and is able to understand many of my responses.
Also, the other night Tyler was leading Esther in praying to Jesus when she asked, "Where's Jesus?" Honestly, I'm surprised that question hadn't come up yet. We had told her before that Jesus is in her heart, but I still thought she would wonder where this guy is that we talk to all the time and ask for help when she has a boo-boo. Tyler told her again that Jesus is in her heart, and she was fine with that. Oh, how we are praying to build and strengthen her faith and not diminish it in our own weakness!
Jesse is doing great, too. : ) He is a champion sleeper, although he does now require his head snuggled against the corner of the crib (or a reasonable substitute) to fall asleep.
We also had a fun water play-day with some of our friends here. Esther had a blast in the kiddie swimming pools, especially the one with a built-in slide. It is so fun for her to have friends, and she talks about these kids constantly! It is fun for me to have friends too, especially these ladies that are so passionate about raising their children to serve the Lord.
More soon, since I'm playing catch up ...
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Blueberry Pie for Papa and More
Okay, I can't resist posting some more cute conversations with Esther. I do plan to post some things that have already happened, to catch up on NOT blogging for the last two and a half years - actually, four and a half years. We do have some good stories from before kids!
But from today, here is a conversation between me and Esther as we are watching Tyler work on his truck from the window. Some of the guys he works with are helping him ...
Esther: (yelling out the window and laughing) Excuse me guys, I fart!
Me: Esther, can I put that in my blog later?
Esther: No, please.
Me: Well, I might do it anyway, okay?
Esther: Okay.
Now, I might regret including this for her sake when she's about 16, but right now it is pretty funny!
And now for a sweet story ... days ago we made a blueberry pie with fresh blueberries (recipe courtesy of Julia Wright to follow). On this particular day, we had one piece left. Esther asked for the pie at lunch time, and I told her we would eat it when Papa came home. After Esther's nap, I went into her room. I told her that Papa had a bad day at work and asked what we could do for Papa. She thought for a minute - with her cute expression of moving her lips to one side and looking toward the sky - and said:
"Pie. Blueberry pie. Esther no eat blueberry pie. Papa eat blueberry pie."
How sweet is that??? I think telling Tyler that conversation made his whole day turn around!
Well, no pictures this time but I wanted to record these conversations quickly before I forgot them. And for fun, here is the Blueberry Pie recipe:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold water
5 cups fresh blueberries, divided
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 pastry shell, baked
Directions:
In saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water until smooth.
Add 3 cups of berries. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, add butter, lemon juice, and remaining berries. Stir until butter is melted. Cool.
Pour into pastry shell and refrigerate until serving.
Enjoy! (Especially with vanilla ice cream!)
But from today, here is a conversation between me and Esther as we are watching Tyler work on his truck from the window. Some of the guys he works with are helping him ...
Esther: (yelling out the window and laughing) Excuse me guys, I fart!
Me: Esther, can I put that in my blog later?
Esther: No, please.
Me: Well, I might do it anyway, okay?
Esther: Okay.
Now, I might regret including this for her sake when she's about 16, but right now it is pretty funny!
And now for a sweet story ... days ago we made a blueberry pie with fresh blueberries (recipe courtesy of Julia Wright to follow). On this particular day, we had one piece left. Esther asked for the pie at lunch time, and I told her we would eat it when Papa came home. After Esther's nap, I went into her room. I told her that Papa had a bad day at work and asked what we could do for Papa. She thought for a minute - with her cute expression of moving her lips to one side and looking toward the sky - and said:
"Pie. Blueberry pie. Esther no eat blueberry pie. Papa eat blueberry pie."
How sweet is that??? I think telling Tyler that conversation made his whole day turn around!
Well, no pictures this time but I wanted to record these conversations quickly before I forgot them. And for fun, here is the Blueberry Pie recipe:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold water
5 cups fresh blueberries, divided
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 pastry shell, baked
Directions:
In saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water until smooth.
Add 3 cups of berries. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, add butter, lemon juice, and remaining berries. Stir until butter is melted. Cool.
Pour into pastry shell and refrigerate until serving.
Enjoy! (Especially with vanilla ice cream!)
Friday, July 8, 2011
Jesse Tyler, Four Months
Now for the latest news on Jesse. He turned four months old a few days ago, on July 3. And, he can roll over! He rolled from his stomach to his back for the first time about a week or so ago. That time he was in his bassinet, but now he has accomplished the feat several times while on the floor. Yay! He has not yet rolled from his back to his stomach but I watched him try like crazy yesterday for about five minutes until he finally gave up to suck his thumb. I'm sure he'll do it soon. He can scoot himself around on the floor - not too far, but he does scoot off of the blanket when I put him on a blanket on the floor. As soon as he can get his belly off the ground, he'll be ready to crawl.
Also in the last few days, Jesse has moved from sleeping in a bassinet in our room to sleeping in the crib. He and Esther are sharing a bedroom . I was not sure how that would work out, but it has been fine so far. Both of our kids sleep through the night so well. I feel really blessed. Maybe God knows how cranky I am without sleep and is having mercy on the rest of my family!
Jesse is a really happy baby. It is so easy to get him to smile, and sometimes now even to laugh. I love to hear him laugh! He definitely smiles and laughs more than Esther at this age. I actually think he is more expressive in general because he also has an adorable pouting face when he is upset. His lower lip sticks out as far as it will go and big tears well up in his eyes. Not that I'm excited when my baby is upset, but he is super cute. I will try to get a picture, but so far we haven't managed to capture it.
Here are a few pictures, starring Jesse ...
Isn't it adorable how he sleeps? He definitely prefers sleeping on his stomach. And he is a thumb-sucker. Recently he started holding his head or shoulders with this other hand while he sleeps, too. So cute!
We love our Jesse!
Also in the last few days, Jesse has moved from sleeping in a bassinet in our room to sleeping in the crib. He and Esther are sharing a bedroom . I was not sure how that would work out, but it has been fine so far. Both of our kids sleep through the night so well. I feel really blessed. Maybe God knows how cranky I am without sleep and is having mercy on the rest of my family!
Jesse is a really happy baby. It is so easy to get him to smile, and sometimes now even to laugh. I love to hear him laugh! He definitely smiles and laughs more than Esther at this age. I actually think he is more expressive in general because he also has an adorable pouting face when he is upset. His lower lip sticks out as far as it will go and big tears well up in his eyes. Not that I'm excited when my baby is upset, but he is super cute. I will try to get a picture, but so far we haven't managed to capture it.
Here are a few pictures, starring Jesse ...
We love our Jesse!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Fourth of July Fun and Cuteness from Esther
To celebrate the Fourth of July, we walked from our apartment to Freedom Fest - an event hosted by a local church. We had a lot of fun, and here are some pictures from our adventures ...
Esther and Jesse in their double stroller as we walked to the celebration ...
Esther climbing up the inflatable slide ...
At the top ...
And coming down! She loved it!
Jesse hanging out in the stroller. Although it was sunny, that hat may not have been the best choice ... maybe a little too girly.
Unfortunately, we had to leave before the fireworks due to a last-minute call for Tyler from work. There may be a job change in the future for Tyler sooner rather than later. Tyler and I were more disappointed than Esther and Jesse, of course. However, the kids and I watched fireworks from our porch while Tyler had to go out. It was so far away that Jesse didn't notice them and Esther wasn't too interested. There's always next year!
Now here's some random cuteness from Esther:
(Esther has been learning in church lately that "Jesus is strong!")
Me: Wow, Esther, you're getting strong.
Esther: No, Jesus is strong! : )
While I was getting ready to go out on a date with Tyler: "Mama pretty!" : )
Last night, Tyler offered Esther money to eat her asparagus. She immediately ate almost the entire thing!
Esther asked for some ice to eat. When I gave it to her, she said "This cold. Warm this up, please."
So many more, but I can't remember them ... I'll add them if I do ... : )
Monday, July 4, 2011
First Post of Our New Family Blog!
I am going to jump right in ... here is our new blog! I wanted to make everything look perfect before posting but then it may never happen. So, I decided to start writing and hopefully I will be able to change the look and the functions of the blog as I go.
I will state up front that this blog has two main purposes - for us to record our lives to remember for the future and share with our children, while keeping in touch with family and friends near and far.
Here is a brief update on our family, in case we haven't seen for you a while! (I am guessing everyone reading this blog knows us.) : )
- We are living in San Angelo, Texas. It is in West Texas, a very friendly city of about 90,000 people that is basically in the desert. We moved here in October 2010 when Tyler got a new position as a Superintendent with a concrete construction company. We love the people here but do miss having trees around!
- Esther turned 2 years old in March. She is great! We are having so much fun with her as she is talking in sentences and learning to play and pretend.
- We welcomed our second baby on March 3. His name is Jesse Tyler, and he is a very happy and easygoing baby. We are thrilled to have him in our family!
- I have been learning so much here about being a wife and a mother. Recently, I am enjoying trying to cook more nutritiously and make more things for our family from scratch. I am sure I will include more about this later.
So welcome to our blog!
Sarah
with Tyler, Esther, and Jesse
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