HAPPY NEW YEAR........

The last week of 2009 was a fun one. Our daycare was closed the week between Christmas and New Years so the kids were shuffled from place to place but had a great time. I took Monday off work and spent the day with them. There was still so much snow on the ground and it was cold so we spent the morning playing with all the new Christmas presents. Raelynn decided that Coop's shoe drawer needed rearranging so she stayed busy with that (kid after my own heart) Coop decided to help her and started throwing his shoes at her. I told him no twice but he continued (no surprise there). Anyway, after throwing the shoes a third time I told Coop, "that's it, you need to sit in time out!" We designated the 2nd stair down on our stairway long ago as the time out chair, but Cooper has never been put in time out and it has been quite some time since Raelynn has been. To my surprise when I told Coop he needed to sit in timeout he replies, "O Tay" and marches himself right to the second stair and sits. Now how he knew where time out was is beyond me but it also became very apparent that he has done time out before. That leads me to believe that when Mary Beth tells me everyday how good the kids were, she may be fibbing just a little :) Anyway, Coop sat there in time out for quite awhile with not a sound. Then he says, "Mommy! I sorry, I get up now?" I thought I was going to crack up. I asked him if he was going to throw his shoes at Sissy anymore and he quickly responded "No!". I never thought putting your child in timeout could be so darn cute! Later that afternoon we headed to Walmart to return some light up shoes we had gotten for Raelynn that were too small. (Her feet are going to be bigger than mine by Kindergarten!) We went back to shoes and found an entirely different pair that she liked better. We headed to customer service for the exchange. Raelynn was holding both pairs of shoes. We were waiting in line and Cooper was trying to get out of the cart and wanted his coat off and so on. I was dealing with him when I realize it is our turn and that Raelynn had already walked up to the counter. She puts both shoes on the counter and says to the clerk, "I want these shoes instead of these, they are too small. Do you need my receipt?" The clerk looks up at me with a huge smile, I smile back. She tells Raelynn she would take the receipt if she has it. Raelynn looks at me and says, "Mom we need the receipt please." I hand her the receipt and she carries on with her business. The clerk puts the exchange receipt down and says she needs me to sign it and Raelynn says, "It's ok, I can sign my own name." The clerk and I both start laughing. I have decided that once a girl knows how to exchange items and use a credit card, she is ready for the real world! It was all way too funny!

After our fun day on Monday, it was Dad's turn on Tuesday. They had a fun day together as well. They put together Coop's new Handy Manny work bench which I think was equally fun for all three of them. Then they spent some time out in the freezing cold playing in the snow. Terry said they didn't last long but at least they got to play a little.




Tuesday night we headed to the KU game. I love going to games. It is so much fun. Raelynn loves the pregame and stays interested for awhile but her attention span is not too long. Cooper on the other hand could have watched for ever. He just stood there and clapped and watched not only the game but people in general. He is just so laid back.

Wednesday the kids headed over to Jan Pollard's. When we were trying to get this week covered I had asked Raelynn who she wanted to stay with and Jan was the first name she gave me. Fortunately Jan was willing to do it. They had a great day. They got to play with Jan's granddaughter Emma who is almost 3 and made Snicker doodle Cookies. They were all smiles when I picked them up and both had a great time. Thanks Jan!

Thursday Terry's niece Emily came to the house to stay with them. I think they had a good time too. They got to play with their cousin Jaxson and other than a few mishaps :) things seemed to go well. Raelynn had been looking forward to New Year's Eve all week. I had told her that she could stay up with us to celebrate this year. We made snacks and even let Raelynn have a soda (Diet Sprite). We played games and watched shows. At 11:40 Raelynn says she is going to lay down because she is so tired. No way was I going to let her when we were so close. So we started trying to keep her awake and made a special drink in champagne glasses (OJ and Diet Sprite). We had told her all about the "ball dropping" and when the count down started she was so excited. When it hit midnight we were hugging and cheering and having our toast, she missed the ball drop. She was a little disappointed but still loved it. I would have never imagined a night at home with a 4 year old would be a wonderful way to celebrate the New Year but it was great!

We spent New Year's Day and the rest of the weekend trying to get the house back to normal and caught up on paperwork. I think we are finally almost there! I am excited to see what the New Year holds for us and cannot wait to see how the kids learn and grow. I know the year will go by much too fast and that is why my New Year's resolution is to cherish every minute of every day because it will be a minute I will never get back.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!