"Daddy, it smells bad in here"

Happy New Year (2 weeks late).  I hope everyone had a great holiday break.  I know we did.  I got some much needed time off with family and friends.  The kids loved opening presents...and presents....and more presents.  I don't think they need another present till 2020.  With that said, I feel truly blessed knowing my kids are loved by so many.

Princess helmet on a John Deer tractor of course

So many presents

Better luck next year

They loved playing in the leaves

There was one day in December that it got up to 80 degrees. So naturally she rode her trike topless.

He seriously needs to stop growing.

With the new year comes New Year Resolutions.  My first resolution is to sleep more. So far, so good! Spencer's resolution is to spend more quality time with the kids.  He works long hours and doesn't get to spend a lot of time with them.  So, this past weekend Spencer took Vivian to a birthday party and out to run errands so they could get some much needed daddy/daughter time.  I was so happy for the two of them to spend the day together but I warned him that he was going to have to take her to the bathroom because she is not old enough to go by herself.  I was a little nervous but thought he could do this.

They set out to the party where Vivian had a great time at her friend Reagan's birthday party.  She had pizza and cake but was still hungry when they left so Spencer took her to Wendy for fries, hamburger and frosty (she ate it all).  While there, Vivian told Spence she needed to go potty. He dreaded the thought of taking her to the mens restroom but took a deep breath and on they went. He said the bathroom was gross but she did her business and they were on their way to the next stop.

They headed to Best Buy because Spencer wanted to look at TV's, DVD players and other things we aren't going to buy. They were in the store for 10 minutes when Vivian says she has to go potty again.  Spencer thinks, Wendy's was a breeze, we will just get in and get out again.  They walk in when the mother of all craps is being dumped in the first stall.  Vivian immediately says as loud as possible, "Daddy it smells really bad in here, like poop but worse."  Spencer quickly scoots Vivian to the only other stall to do her business.  She then proceeds to go on and on about how bad it smells.  Spencer is trying not to laugh or vomit all at the same time.  Poops MaGoots in the stall next to them decides he should do a courtesy flush.  Vivian's eyes widen, "Daddy, what was that noise? It's so loud in here and it still smells really bad." The bathroom door opens and a man walks in and just stands near the stalls waiting to use one. Spencer is trying to get her to finish when she says with a strained voice, "Daddy, I need to poop and it's a really big one." Spencer is now sweating and wanting this nightmare to end. They exit the stall and Vivian walks straight to the urinals. "Daddy, what is this? What goes in here? How does it work?" Spencer is slowly dying on the inside as he races to wash theirs hands. 

They finally exit the bathroom and Spencer decides their day excursion will now come to an end and comes home.  He was so flustered when he came home and began telling me about their experience.  I think this may have ended his New Years resolution but he gave it his all for the first 10 days of the year.  For that, I will give him a pat on the back. 

I'm still alive

It's been what 4 months since I blogged last?  I have no other excuse other than I'm lazy.  Everyone in the Mitchell household is still breathing as of this morning...hopefully they still are.  I'm going to recap the last 4 months very quickly so hold on.

Easton turned 1.  I've asked him several times to stop growing but his stubbornness has persevered.  He is now walking and falling everywhere.  He loves bruising his forehead as much as Vivian loves watching Sofia the First.  He hasn't said a real word yet but understands commands (very similar to Meadow).  If you ask for a kiss be prepared for some tongue action, this kid goes all in every time. 

Vivian has become more of a diva than I ever imagined.  I catch her daily looking at herself in the mirror posing or brushing her hair.  Spencer is so proud.  I can't believe she will be 3 1/2 at the end of the month.  She is 3 going on 16!

We've celebrated the last few months spending time with family, traveling to Oklahoma for a group cabin trip, playing with friends and going to birthday parties (oh the birthday parties).

I started as an independent consultant for Rodan + Fields.  I feel blessed to be a part of this business and look forward to it's growth opportunities.  Plus my skin looks great so it's sort of a win/win.

date night

vivian posing again

This kid loves the water

First day of Preschool

Oklahoma Trip

Spencer's brother and wife had their first child Emery Lynn

Easton is 9 months...almost 10 months

Like I said in my previous blog, I'm a little late to the party but at least I showed up :)  Easton is 9 months and on the go.  He is every where and into everything.  The day he started crawling he went straight for the outlet on the wall.  Vivian has never paid attention to the outlets but leave it to E.  He is going to make me crazy.

Besides making me crazy he is just the sweetest boy.  He is always smiling and now has 7 teeth to show off.  Teething itself doesn't cause a lot of issues but his sinuses are a complete mess from it.  You can tell when he is teething because his nose just drips like a faucet. He oddly enough doesn't drool like his big sis did but I think I would take the drooling over the congestion. 

He went to his 9 month check up and passed with flying colors.  He is a big boy and I can't wait for him to start walking so I don't have to carry him everywhere.

height: 29.25" (83%)
weight: 22 lbs (85%)
head: don't remember but he is in the 87%. These Norwegian heads 

Hanging out with Ganpa

Sleeping sitting up

Watching World Cup with Daddy

He loves his trains

He is one cool cat

Waiting for daddy to get home

MIA

I've been a little MIA lately.  Don't fret, we are still here. :)  It's been a great summer so far.  We kicked off the summer by driving to Waco to see my dear friend Jenny.  Her kids play so well with Vivian.  They had a blast at the park together.  Wish I could see them more often.

Harper, Vivian, Cooper

Jenny taking Easton down the slide

Harper hanging out in a tree

Having a lovely picnic till the mosquito's found them

The next weekend my brother got married.  They had an intimate ceremony in Colleyville.  I think everyone had a great time.  I was so impressed Vivian behaved as well as she did.  She even ate a ceasar salad.  Such a silly girl.

Vivian and her new cousin Marley

Family photo

Vivian and Easton have really started to bond.  They somewhat play together but just enjoy being in the same room with each other.  Vivian really just wants to play mommy and pick him up and put him in timeout...because doesn't every baby need to be put in timeout? I can't wait for him to get a little bigger so they can really play together.  Until then I have this classic picture of the two of them together.

This sums up their relationship

Vivian has also started ballet.  She LOVES it.  She would wear her leotard (sans the tights) everyday if I would let her. 

My little ballerina

Vivian is 3

It is hard to believe Vivian is 3 years old.  She has grown so much (mentally and physically) in such a short period of time. 

Her vocabulary has skyrocketed in the past year.  It's so much fun to have conversations with her.  We were in the car the other day and were stopped at a red light. She looked out the window and said the clouds were moving fast like our car. I was pretty impressed she could correlate the two things.  She also has a few funny expressions.  If you make a funny comment to her she always responds, "That's so silly" and giggles.  Her newest phrase is used when I explain what we are going to do step by step and she responds, "Oh that will be perfect." It makes me laugh every time.

She finally became potty trained.  After months of fighting with her she finally decided she was a big girl and didn't want to wet her pants anymore.  She now uses the bathroom on her own and goes when she needs to.  Now if I can just get Easton potty trained...j/k.

She is still working on dressing herself.  She has no problem with putting on underwear, pants, socks but shirts seem to give her grief.  She is much better at putting on shirts but getting them over her head it still very frustrating for her. 

And the best one of all is her demeanor.  Vivian definitely went through the terrible twos. She fought me on everything, cried every time she didn't get her way and had a hard time adjusting to her new brother and my no longer undivided attention. But somehow we got through it and she has become the sweetest little girl I know.  She loves to give hugs and kisses and believes you won't have a good day without her kisses (she is absolutely right). Her tantrums from jumped from a 10 to a 1.  She is more understanding when she doesn't get her way and whines significantly less. She has also become a big helper.  She helps me change Easton's diaper and pick out clothes for him to wear. She sings and read to him and helps him grab toys he can't reach. She puts takes her shoes off everyday after school and puts them in her closet without being asked and she grabs her own snacks and drinks from the fridge.  I don't know what I'd do without this little girl.

On our way to the botanical gardens in Memphis, TN

We grabbed a pic just before heading to school

Petting bunnies at the Easter Hunt at church

All dressed up for Easter Sunday

I really need to work at taking photos of the two of them.

I just hope in the next year her hair grows longer.  She so badly wants long hair to sweep over her shoulder.  Her curls are so cute but Miss Viv is ready for some growth.  It's so cute to watch her pretend to be Elsa from Frozen and let down her hair. 

Easton the Beaston turns 6 months!

Easton celebrated his 6 months of life on Wednesday.  He was so excited that as soon as I put his 6 month sticker on him he ripped it off and shoved it in his mouth.  So needless to say, his sticker was a little crumbled.

Don't you just want to squeeze him?

Easton is the sweetest boy.  I look at him and can't help but smile and squeeze him.  His smile just melts my heart. He loves to laugh, smile and eat his feet (which usually stink but he doesn't seem to mind).  Over the past two weeks he has really started to sit up on his own.  He stills fall over if he leans too far one way or the other but is getting better at catching himself every day. He still isn't rolling over but I'm not too concerned. Vivian didn't really start rolling over until right before she started crawling.  I think we still have a few months...I hope I still have a few months before he starts crawling. His fine motor skills have really skyrocketed in the past month.  He grabs for toys, pacifiers and moves them from hand to hand.  He also loves to hold my hair.  Holding my hair is like a security blanket to him. Easton has his two bottom teeth now.  Only 18 more to go!

I love the mornings when I can hear him in his crib cooing and holding his feet while staring at the ceiling.  It's the best way to wake up.  That happens about 4 days out of the week.  The other days he wakes up screaming bloody murder. I prefer the cooing mornings myself.

I took Easton to his 6 month check up this morning and he passed all his tests. I couldn't believe he didn't cry after he got 3 shots.  He just gave the nurse a "go to hell" look and then looked at me and smiled. 

Height: 27.25" (75%)
Weight: 19.6lbs (82%)
Head: 17.68" (it was up there)

The thing I love the most is how he and Vivian get along.  Vivian loves her brother and often refers to him as her "boy".  She loves to make him smile and laugh.  She reads to him and plays with him.  I hope this sibling love lasts (fingers crossed).  

Vivian thought he would look cute with this on.

Reading with her brother.

Playing together

Such a happy baby.

I love that he can hold his own bottle.

Laundry Fairy

I'm in desperate need for a laundry fairy. One who will flip all socks outside in, inspect all articles to determine if they need to be pretreated and actually treat them, dry them without shrinking them a size and then neatly fold and hang them in their respective closets. Is this too much to ask for? 

I'm going to come out and and say it, I suck at laundry. I usually blame the washing machine but I'm sure I'm the real culprit in this never ending battle of stains, holes and shrinkage. As I was putting Vivian's clothes away today I found holes in two shirts. One of them in the middle of the shirt. How do you get a hole in the middle of the shirt?

Olivia looks like she has been shot.

This shirt looks like it had a battle with some scissors and lost. These aren't just cheap shirts. These are Gymboree $20 shirts. How does this happen?

Then there is the stain demon. I try to inspect all clothes before they go into the washer but I miss a few (or more) every now and again. I'm tempted to ban Viv from eating spaghetti sauce. The problem with long sleeve shirts is they attract even more stains than the shirt itself. Last night I let Viv drink some of my protein shake and before I could stop her she cleaned her face with her sleeve. Who needs napkins when they are built right into your clothes?

This shirt was cute until it was attacked by Ragu. 

If Vivian is this messy with her clothes what will Easton do to his? Do they make wear and toss clothes?