Hair Fun!

I found the most amazing blog link when I was surfing the other day on Julie's blog called hairtoday. It has the best ideas for hair. She even had styles I could do with Melody's short and uneven hair. I wasn't too sure Mellie would sit still long enough for me to actually do any of the styles, but I had to try. Up until now I had just been putting it in a quick pony tail or pig tails, whatever got it out of her eyes. Then I had to stop doing that when she entered the 'putting things in my nose' phase. Hairthings are really hard to get out! So before I tried anything new I showed her the picture on the blog and asked her if she wanted to do it pretty like that little girl. She got really excited so I figured that was a good sign. I let her pick the hair thing colors and got to work. It only took me about 5 minutes to do this one and that included all of the extra time i had to stop because Mellie had to wiggle for a minute. After I finished I took her into the bathroom to look at her self and she said 'oh mom, I sooo pretty!' then when I put her down she went to show Katie and asked her if she looked beautiful. I was so proud of how well it turned out that I had to take pictures for proof. I'm realistic, I knew it wasn't going to last until Jared got home.

Now if only I could get her hair to grow faster so I can try out some of those other styles.

Our mini Mexico vacation!

I was online Saturday while Jared was at work checking out the laws on passports and crossing the border on land when I discovered that you don't need a passport yet to drive across only if you're flying across. I told Jared and he jokingly said "so do you want to go to Mexico tonight?" I don't think he thought it would be something I'd go for, but I've actually wanted to go for a while now so I could meet the rest of his family. So when he got home we choked down the lasagna I made (I'm buying the frozen ones from now on!) and started a mad dash to get ready. Jared pulled out the computer Jerry had sent with us that was for Papa and Mama and started formatting it while I packed and entertained the kids. By the time we got everything done and loaded it was 10:00! Taly was able to get us a really good rate on a hotel room (thanks again Taly!) $80 for two nights at the Marriot! We stayed in San Antonio the first night and it was a good thing we did because we didn't get in until 2 AM! The next morning we headed out and after hitting the local Wal-Mart for bottled water (I love that it's everywhere no matter where you are!) we were off! I was kinda nervous thinking the border patrol would ask all kinds of probing questions, but they don't care who goes in just who comes out, so we went over without a glance from any of the officers.

We finally got there about 11 AM. Melody wasn't too sure at first, but Katelynn loved Papa from the beginning! He was playing with her and she was laughing a bouncing all over the place. After about an hour there were probably 10-20 people there including all of the kids. Melody was in heaven! From the stories I've been told Melody acted just like Jared used to when they went to visit. She got whatever she wanted from everyone! The older girls followed her everywhere and took a million pictures and shared all of their treats while the adults passed Katie around like a toy. Katie also loved the attention, she laughed and smiled at whoever had her at the moment.
After a while some of us walked over to the Rio to let the kids play. Melody kept trying to climb in and was freaking Jared out! There was a family fishing and Papa asked if the kids could look at the fish. I have a video in the video bar of this. Melody was so excited to see and touch a fish I don't think she realized it was dead. On the way back we passed a bunch of sunflower plants that were swarming with butterflies. I made Jared take a picture, but you can't really see them. I couldn't believe how many butterflies there were down there!

So on went the day and the kids never napped or ate anything healthy. Melody helped Papa make tortillas and Mama tried to piece them back together before she put them on to cook. Then she played with the chickens and got unbelievably dirty. She took bracelets from a few of the girls and walked around showing them to anyone who wanted to see. They all oohed and aahed over her! I put Katie down to play with the other babies, but mostly she tried to grab their hair and eat it. I'm sure her social skills will continue to develop!

By the end of the day we had Melody saying please and thank you in Spanish. We've been working with her on it and Jared frequently speaks to her in Spanish, but she only uses it when it suits her. I also had learned a bit more and was understanding it better. Usually I can follow conversations Jared has with Papa, but everyone else spoke so FAST! I couldn't follow anything they said. I'm going to have to crack down on learning if we're going to visit down there very often because it was more than a little intimidating not being able to understand what everyone was saying. They were all very understanding though and applauded my every effort to use what Spanish I did know.

We finally left at around 7 which wouldn't have been too late if we hadn't been detained! We knew we would be though because we got halfway and realized we had forgotten the girls birth certificates! We decided to play dumb American tourist and hope it didn't cause too much trouble. In the end it took an extra half hour, which Melody screamed through, and we were given a dozen or so pamphlets on what was required to cross the border. By next time I should have our passports so we wont have to worry about it.

The weekend was a hectic, but much needed vacation. We all really enjoyed ourselves and I was glad Mellie and Katie got to meet all of their relatives in Mexico. Hopefully we'll be able to go again soon! Check out the side bar for pictures!

Melody's Ever Expanding Vocabulary!

Today I was reminded that my two year old has an opinion about nearly everything and now has the vocabulary to make it heard! While we were walking to the park this morning she started playing the 'I SEE' game. She says I see... and then tells me what she can see, and then I take a turn. When we first started playing about six months ago she would say clouds and trees over and over. Today she saw cars, bushes, squirrels, a mailbox, and a door on the house. I was really impressed because she doesn't usually say that many different things. Then when we got home she started playing with Katie like Daddy plays with her. She got down on her hands and knees and started crawling after Katie saying 'I'm gonna get you Katie! Rawr!' It's too cute watching them play together. Now that Katie can move Melody tries to play more.
Later we were killing time waiting for Dad to get home from work so we could eat dinner and Melody runs up to me holding a movie. Then she yells 'Mom I LOVE He-Man! He's perfect! I NEED to watch He-Man!'. Jared had bought me a He-Man movie months ago because I used to watch it when I was little, apparently Melody has adopted my love for him! Then when we sat down to dinner she looks at it and says 'I LOVE noodles mom! I gonna eat my dinner!' Finally I have found a meal that she LOVES. It only took me a whole year!
As I'm sure you can tell she's talking very well now. She uses complete sentences all the time, and we're finding that she has an amazing memory. A few weeks ago she decided that she wanted to say the prayer, so we would tell her what to say and she would repeat it. Now we've gotten to the point that she can say whole phrases without being told what to say! I just can't keep up with her. If Katie's anything like her I'm going to have my hands full!

happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me!

Yeah! Today was my birthday. I actually had to count to figure out how old I was. Once you pass 21 it doesn't matter again untill 30. We had a very nice day. I started out by skipping my workout because I felt I deserved a break. Then Jared got the girls ready and took them to buy my present. I took a long, long, long shower with NO interruptions! Melody usually sits on the floor of the bathroom asking "mom are you done yet?" Then they got home and Melody insisted on making my cake. She walked around with the frosting saying "this is my present mom" she thought it was for her. Jared let her help make it and mix it. I got some way cute pics, I'll post them tomorrow if I get the chance. Then while the cake was cooking Jared took the girls in to sign my card (He helped mellie write her name, and katie signed with her footprint) and wrap my present. For those of you who know Jared well you know how funny he thinks he is. So he sends mellie in with a gift bag and says I'll just love my present he put a lot of thought into it! I opened it knowing it was going to be something bizzaar because he had that stupid smile he gets when he's up to something. It was a 20oz MtDew. Then I turned to him and said "okay where's the REAL present" He just laughed. Turns out he got me an MP3 player, which is what I have been wanting forever. It's way cool. It's only 2G but we can get and 8G memory card for it. Then Jared suggested we get a sitter and go see a movie. I was almost giddy. Jared's way anal about sitters which I can understand, but sometimes I would just like to get out for a minute. My RS president introduced me to a way cute girl who lives in the neighborhood behind us and the girls took to her immeadiatly. So we crossed our fingers and called her 2 hrs before we needed her to come. Luckily she was available. We went to see The Dark Knight. It was way cool as far as Batman gadgets go, but it was a little dark for my taste. I tend to be really sensitive to movies though, to me they seem real where most people can just write it off as a movie, nobody really got hurt. I don't think we'll be buying that one. We may have a showdown though cause Jared loved it and I know he wants it. Oh-well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the mean time 'Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me'

Dallas Arboretum

We took the girls to the Dallas Arboretum on Monday and we had a ton of fun! It was seriously hot so we took a ton of water, but we didn't need to worry! There were several water features, and even though you weren't supposed to play in them Melody managed to get soaked at every one! She kept trying to take her clothes off so she could go swimming. Melody really enjoyed being able to just run around, smell the flowers and chase the squirrels. Katelynn on the other hand, was very unhappy that Mellie got to walk while she was stuck in the stroller. She's getting quite opinionated lately! So finally we took her out and pushed around our empty stroller, go figure! Jared occupied himself by taking pictures of EVERYTHING! There were so many beautiful photo opportunities. I think he most enjoyed taking pics of the kids playing though. He got some really good ones and we ended up with over 60 pictures! I just enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the house and move around no matter how hot it was! I was an extremely beautiful place to play and explore. We'll definitely be going back in the spring when everything is in full bloom.

Sunday Best

The girls were all dressed and ready for church and we just couldn't resist a few pictures. They looked too sweet! Katie hated that hat, but it was too cute to take off. Melody was just being a ham. We have to bribe her to let us take pictures. Usually with M&M's, but our supply is running low so we'll have to come up with something new! Melody really enjoys church. Sacrament is hard for her, but she LOVES nursery. She comes home every week singing a new song. This week she wandered around for the rest of the day yelling 'Sunbeam, Sunbeam. Sunbeam, Sunbeam' She gets the basic idea. Katie I've discovered would much rather play with the big kids than the babies. We have a few babies and a few toddlers that are in class every week and when I try to encourage her to play with the babies she turns herself around and heads for the back where the bigger kids are playing. She just doesn't know what to do with herself without Melody around to entertain her!

Melody's Project

So I've come to the conclusion that I'm a bad mom. It's been so hot here lately that we haven't been able to leave the house beyond the quick trip to walmart, so I was browsing online looking for project ideas to keep melody busy. As I'm looking I come across a blog ran by a SAHM of 5 kids! First of all that made me feel incompetent because I can barely handle my two! Then she proceeds to blog about all the fun projects she does everyday with her kids and how she structures the day because it helps them feel secure when they have structure.
As I'm reading this I begin to feel worse and pretty soon I have myself convinced that my children's eternal salvation depends on having structure and doing crafts! So at this point I close the laptop and go find 'project' materials. I pull out paper and letters and glue and fancy scissors and card stock for cutting out shapes. I decide we should make a crown because all little girls like wearing princess crowns right. About two minutes into it I discovered melody had no interest in making a crown and ripped the first one I made. when I gave her shapes and letters to glue on she rubbed glue on the back just like I showed her and then stuck them to my carpet. It needed some sprucing us anyway! Finally I get her to find the letters for her name and with some help she got them in the right order. We managed to glue them onto the crown and the she promptly went back to gluing shapes to the carpet. After we finished she had no interest in putting it on until Dad came home and raved about how beautiful it was. Today she brought it to me and asked me to help her put it on, I did, and then she disappeared. I followed her to see what she was up to and found her admiring herself in front of the mirror we have yet to hang up! I ran and grabbed the camera, but she hates it when I take her picture (she poses for Dad: ) so I had to snap fast before she got the crown off. I only got two but I thought they turned out cute. I guess I'll have to risk their eternal salvation because I don't have the energy for anymore projects this week!

Melody's ABC"s

Last week Mellie started singing twinkle twinkle little star, then yesterday she started singing her ABC's from start to finish. She would only do it when she thought I wasn't paying attention and if I dared turn a camera on she would run the other way! So I did what any good mather would so, I bribed her! I told her I would give her MnM's if she would sing for the camera. That's what she's talking about at the end of the video she wants me to pay up! Oh well, it got her to sing didn't it!

Katelynn's upto mischief

We have a big toy basket we keep in the living room and Katie figured out how to get into it! At first she would just pull out toys that hung over the edge, but it didn't take her long to figure out how to pull over the whole basket. She only does it when Melody's not around though because She's always telling her no and taking away toys that she doesn't think Katelynn should have (which is almost all of them!). As soon as Mellie's in bed or eating Katie will scoot over to the basket and pull it over so she can go through the toys. It keeps her occupied for a good twenty minutes which is like a mini vacation to me!