Surviving the terrible two's!

I haven't posted in over a month and earlier today I was trying to figure out why.  We have been busy with school, basketball and dance but it's not much different than any other time.  Then the reason hit me.  Literally, it was a smack to my face as I was carrying a screaming two year old in the house from the van.  Miss Aubrey did not want to come home from our errands and now that she is officially two she busted out one of her crazy tantrums.  I am pretty sure that if my neighbors would have been home instead of at work they would have thought that I was killing her the screaming was so loud.  Sigh.

The terrible two's was one of those things that as a new parent I was warned by everyone about.  However, my oldest Dawson was and still is rather easy.  He listened to me, even at a young age, to what I said.  He would get frustrated, yell and cry but it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle.  I really thought as we coasted through the two's that I was a pretty darn awesome mom.  Then Emma hit the two's.  It was striking the difference between Emma and Dawson.  Emma never took what I said to be true.  She had to figure everything out on her own.  We struggled with her mastering all the baby proof items in the house and getting into everything.  She threw tantrums but we did survive.  There were many days that I thought that we would never make it to kindergarten but time marched on and here we are.  Emma is in kindergarten and doing so well.  She is great at school and she has matured noticeably since August. 

One of the many lessons that I learned from parenting Emma was that it is easy to parent and easy child.  Aubrey has since reaffirmed this lesson.  Aubrey has been the most difficult of the three kiddos for me.  She has struggled the most at realizing the whole world does not revolve around her.  That she can't get whatever she wants whenever she wants it.  She is an emotional child which means that when she is happy she is a blast to be around.  Her dimples are adorable.  Her laughter is contagious and her language skills are amazing.  When she is upset though...oh my goodness.  She screams, yells, hits, kicks, and throws whenever happens to be near her on the floor.  She has even started saying how she hates things!  I have no idea where she got that from.  I have come to dread bed time and we have unscrewed the light bulbs in her room so that she will quit turning on her light and playing when she is supposed to be sleeping.  She is just as curious as Emma is so we have to be watchful of Aubrey at every moment or I will end up with my make up all over my bathroom, shampoo squeezed out all in the bath or markers colored all over her face and tummy. 

In the last month or so I have worried, cried, yelled and pleaded with my mom friends to tell me that I am not alone.

I am not alone!  There are other mothers out there trying to survive the day with their own two year old.  It is so easy to forget that though.  My world can feel so small with just me at home with my Aubrey.  We will survive and Aubrey will make it to kindergarten.  If I keep saying it that will make it happen right? I am sure that there will be more crying, worrying and even yelling.  I have become more of a yeller than I ever imagined I would be as a parent.  Know that I am trying my best to get Aubrey where she needs to be.  We will get there eventually.  If you happen to see us at the store and Aubrey is screaming and has just chucked her snack across the store (yep, that actually happened at Old Navy) please don't judge us too harshly.  We are just trying to survive the terrible two's.

Dawson and the Spirit

Over the last month or so Dawson has begun asking some great spiritual questions to Dan and I.  You can just see the little wheels in his head turning as we talk to him.  Dan and I have taken a low key approach to spirituality in our house.  We go to church when we can (between Dan's work and my health we do not get there every week), listen to music that has spiritual meaning to Dan and I, and openly talk about God and things that we are learning.  Dawson and Dan have also enjoyed reading Tim Tebow's book Through My Eyes together.  It has opened the door for some great questions and conversation. 

Last night Dan and I were chatting in the kitchen about Dawson's little buddy who is being baptized at the end of the month.  Dawson wandered in and began asking us about what baptism was, how it happens and why we do it.  Dan and I come from a Wesleyan background and so we talked to him about how baptism is a way to show others that you love and want to follow Jesus.  He asked us when we were baptized and we told him that Dan was baptized when he was 16 and I was around 10.  He was amazed that his Papa (my dad) was the one that baptized me.  Then, he asked when he was going to be baptized.  We told him that when he decides to ask Jesus in his heart then he can choose to be baptized.  We explained that when we ask God to forgive us of our sin (and reminded him what sin meant) and we invite Him to be apart of our lives that was what it meant to "ask Him into our hearts".  It was hard to not get all technical on him!  Dan and I kept trying to use those large spiritual words only to realize he would have no idea what they meant:)

It was awesome to watch him last night absorb all the information we were giving him.  His little brain was just thinking over everything that we said.  I have to say that it was one of the coolest things as a parent to watch.  I know that he has a little bit before he can truly grasp all the concepts but we are on the way.  The Holy Spirit is beginning to move in him and it is beautiful to see. 

I need a snack!

I can't even tell you how many times a day I hear these words... I need a snack!  I hear it from Dawson, Emma and even Aubrey over and over through out the day.  They could have just ate lunch 30 minutes ago and they think that they need a snack.  It drives me insane.

So, since summer is just around the corner I have decided to put forth the fruit and veggie tray initiative.  Each morning I will put out a fruit and veggie tray.  Today I put grapes, strawberries, cherries and apples on the fruit tray and I put celery, cucumbers, carrots, radishes and snap peas on the veggie tray.  The kids may help themselves to as many fruits and veggies as they want without asking.  It will be right where they can reach it all day.  I think that I will also start filling a cooler with ice water that they can get water from whenever they want, again, without having to ask me for a drink all the time. 

It has gone well so far today.  The first thing Emma said when she got home from school and walked into the kitchen was, "Hey Mom, can I help myself to some fruit?"  I think that the prep will make a little more work for me but I will enjoy not hearing those four works over and over. 

Day 7 - House Arrest

I am going stir crazy!  We are on day 7 of me only leaving the house to go to the doctor/er or to take Dawson to school.  We are on day 9 of having at least one Westfall sick. 

I remember feeling well. 
I remember the fun I had going to the gym. 

Emma has been doing fine all day.  No fevers, getting into mischief.  Standard Emma stuff.  I am thinking, "score!"  We are done here and I can get out of the house tomorrow.

I hear a cry for Dan.  Dan is in North Platte.  Hopefully he is resting so he won't get this crud.  Emma is crying in her bed.  I go to check on her and she is hot.  NO!  She is running a fever of 102.5. 
WHY!?! 
How is this even possible? 

You know that she is going to be fine in the morning. 

Today is not my day

Today has not been my day.  It started about 2am when Emma crawled in bed with me because she had a bad dream.  She was adamant that she could not sleep in her own bed again so up she climbed.  I am sure that you are saying to yourself, "what is the big deal about having Emma sleep with you?"  Let me tell you that it is not a Mommy and daughter in beautiful and peaceful slumber.  I thought that this captured the night perfectly.

We ended up over sleeping and were rushing around trying to get everyone ready and out the door for school.  There may have been some tears and yelling by more than one person.  Once we are loaded in the van I push the garage door opener, yell at Emma to get her buckle on and start backing out the garage.  Enough time has passed that I can back out right?  Um, no.  The garage door pinches the top part of the van making a dent, pealing paint and poking a hole in the top of the van from a bolt on the garage door.  I am surprised that the neighbors did not hear my yell of frustration.  We were able to get Dawson to school on time but Emma was late.

Aubrey and I then left to run errands after Emma got settled at school.  To say that Aubrey had a meltdown while we were in Hobby Lobby would indicate that it was just one episode.  Nope, instead she cried, threw things from the basket onto the floor (her arms are long enough to reach), and screamed, "MINE" the whole time we were there.  You would not believe the looks I got.  You know the ones.  The look that makes you feel like the worst mother ever and want to burst into tears.

I spend all morning worrying about telling Dan about the van.  It is just so ridiculous and I much too proud for my own good.  I talk to Dan on the phone (he is in North Platte) and tell him about my van stupidity.  He, as always, is kind and gracious.  It is terribly embarrassing to have to tell him about the van though.  I hate being such a dingbat.  Although I know this won't be the last time.

On the way home from getting Dawson from school I caught Emma telling me a lie.  She was sent to her room while I tried to figure out what to do with her.  Dawson in the mean time had lost his gloves and was stomping/whining around the house trying to find something else that will work. I ended up loosing it and yelling at him to just wear my white fuzzy ones or nothing at all.  He of course starts crying because he is just like me and hates getting yelled at.  It hurts his heart and now my heart hurts because I took my frustration out on him. 

Sigh.  Sometimes the days just do not go my way.   

The kids are outside playing and Aubrey is snacking while watching a Veggie Tale.  I am taking a much needed time out.  A Caedmon's Call song has popped into my head and I remember that everything is sacred even on the days that do not go my way. 

A Super Bowl Funny

This is a conversation that Dawson, Emma, and I had about the upcoming Super Bowl Game.

Dawson:  Hey Mom, who do you think is going to win the Super Bowl?

Me:  I hope that the Giants do.

Dawson: I think that the Patriots are going to win because Tom Brady is better than Eli Manning.  Payton Manning is better than both of them though.

Me:  Well, I don't really like Tom Brady so I would rather Eli Manning win.

Dawson:  How come you don't like Tom Brady?

Emma:  Is it because Eli Manning is cuter than Tom Brady?

Me: Well...no. (lots of laughing)  Tom Brandy is a lot cuter but...


So there you have it.

Dawson is cheering for the Patriots
I am cheering for the Giants
Emma thinks that whoever is the cutest should win

The last day of our 5 day break!

The kids have been out of school since Thursday.  It feels like it has been longer than five days! 

Since Thursday the kids have:

• had 3 of their favorite sibling friends over for pizza and playing
• fought
• played all kinds of Wii
• painted a bird house
• went to the gym with Mommy
• hung out with the neighbors then returned happy and hyper from their 20 oz soda she gave them
• watched football
• read books
• fought
• played outside
• Emma went on a date night to see Alvin and the Chipmunks movie and to Culvers
• had church at home
• made a cake
• watched movies
• screamed at each other
• helped tidy the house (over and over because they can't help but make messes wherever they go)
• asked for snacks...A LOT
• had the neighbor girl over to play
• played in a basketball game
• had another buddy over to play
• fought some more
• colored
• threw a fit because even though it is warm it is still January and no you can't swim in the pool outside
• took a swim in the bath instead
• played cars, legos, and blocks
• yelled when siblings took the cars, legos, and blocks that were mentioned above
• there is more but the days have bled together and I can no longer remember what happened on which day

I think that I will be more than ready for the kids to head back to school tomorrow.  I have quit trying to keep up with the house and will just wait until they are gone tomorrow before I try and get any real cleaning done.  We have reached the age of fighting and I am a little nervous about this summer.  I am praying that I will continue to feel well so that I can plan more activities for the kiddos to try and keep them busy.  They usually do not fight as much when they are busy...usually.

Thankful Thursday

It is Thursday and I am sitting here, after lunch, thinking about what I am thankful for right at this moment.  I just wanted to share so here it is, in no particular order, all the things that I am thankful for on this Thursday.

1.  I am thankful for Dan.  He is my best friend and while I know that life is uncertain I am thankful for each moment that God allows me to spend with him.

2.  I am thankful for my adorable Aubrey.  Her pigtails and squeaky shoes bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart.  I can't imagine a life without her.

3.  I am thankful for being allowed to hear Emma sing along to one of my favorite songs today on the way to school.  It is called All the Miles by Sandra McCracken.  Something about her singing, "this is not make believe" just gave me chills.

4.  I am thankful for a son that is as concerned about the time as I am.  He is always ready and waiting as I am trying to usher everyone out the door.

5.  I am thankful for my new book called Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.  Reading is one of my greatest joys and I love getting a new book.  Especially one that I have been waiting to come out for 2 years!!

What Matters Most?

This week I have been chewing over this little tidbit that was said to me at our Mops (Mothers of preschoolers) meeting.  We watched a video by Julie Barnhill.  She was speaking on her book One Tough Mother.  There were numerous points through out her talk that applied to me.  However, the one that stuck with me about mothering was this... In the light of eternity, what matter most?  I have been dwelling on that line ever since. 

In the light of eternity does how clean my house really matter?  In the light of eternity does having my children involved in lots of activities matter?  In the light of eternity does it matter if I serve frozen pizza twice in a week? (yes, that really happened this week)  Obviously, the answer is no.  No, those things do not matter in the light of eternity.  Why am I so hung up on such trivial stuff?  Why have I convinced myself that part of being a good mother is that I have a clean house, that my kids "should" be extra ordinary at everything that they do, that when people see me they see a perfect Suzy-homemaker?  These are all lies.  Lies that I have presented to others, convinced myself of and demanded my family to live up to. 

So here it is.  The real truth.  My house is never clean.  I try and try but it will never look clean.  It is one of those houses that always looks "lived" in.  Here is a small sampling of photo proof that I took on a regular Wednesday afternoon.

 The girl's bedroom.

 My bedroom - washed the linens but haven't had time to remake the bed

 Laundry - oh so much laundry that has piled up

Gobs of shoes by the front door and coats on the floor even though there is a hook near by.



One thing that I have felt convicted on this week is that I do not often enough delight in my ordinary children.  I feel this need that they "should" be special, outstanding, better then the rest...  You get the idea.  I think that outwardly I am pretty good at appearing not too competitive with other moms.  On the inside, however, I worry/obsess if someones child is doing something that mine is not yet or maybe will never do.  This needs to stop.  My children are a wonderful blessing from God.  I want to delight in the fact that they are regular kids and, really, we lead a very regular life.  Nothing glamorous or exciting and that is okay.  Actually it is perfect really.

Then there is finally the perfect Suzy-homemaker farce.  Oh man, as much as I have tried to be I am just not.  I will be real with you and tell you that today I was tired and not feeling well.  I was not nice to Dan pretty much all day.  We had leftovers for lunch (pizza) and I made the kids waffles for dinner.  To try and make myself feel better about it I made sure to serve strawberries with their lunch to offset the fact that they had pizza for Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch.  Strawberries are healthy.  It helps counter act too much pizza!  Right?!?

As I thought about all these things this week I decided to adopted a few REAL mothering goals for myself.  These are the things that really matter to me.  First, I want my children to grow up to be kind, loving individuals with a heart for the Lord.  The state of my house does not factor into that goal.  Second, I want my house to be something that my children want to come back to.  I don't want them to leave at 18 and never what to come back.  I want them to feel safe, loved and God's presence when the come back home.  In the light of eternity those are the things that truly matter to me.  The rest is just not worth the worry.

Let the sick season begin...

It has begun.  The virus season has hit the Westfall house.  It started last week with Emma waking up in the night vomiting everywhere.  She recovered quickly and thankfully was out only for 24 hours.  I was hoping that would be it for awhile but it was not to be. 

This morning Dawson told me that he wasn't feeling well.  He said that he had been coughing all night.  He hadn't been, our room is close by and I didn't hear a peep.  So off to school he went.  When I picked him up from school this afternoon he immediately told me that he wasn't feeling very well.  I thought maybe he is having some allergies and that is why he isn't feeling well.  We loaded up in the van and got about three blocks when I heard a cough and then the sound that no mom wants to hear, especially while inside of a car.  Dawson threw up all over his backpack and the floor of the van.  By the time I was able to pull over he was, of course, done.  I will not get into the details but it was horrific my friends.  I rolled down the windows and finished the remainder of the drive home.  Ten minutes later I pulled in our drive way and got Dawson settled in the house.  I sent Emma to the backyard so that she would stay out of my hair.  She thought that it was awesome that Dawson got sick in the van and kept trying to "help".  Once Aubrey was in her high chair with some snacks I set to cleaning out the van.  SO GROSS.  I got it done and sprayed Lysol everywhere in the van.  Thankfully Dan had some plastic gloves in the garage.  With me being so immune repressed I have to be careful when the kids get sick. 

Dawson is now laying watching Power Rangers but is so upset that he will be missing school tomorrow and can't go on his play date with his best buddy Ethan after school.  Emma is upset because Dan is gone and I don't have anyone to stay with Dawson so she is missing her soccer game.  I think that we will be watching movies this evening and then after the kids go to bed I will be scrubbing down the house.  Hopefully we can keep the sick from spreading!  I found this Baby Blues cartoon strip and it cracked me up.  I just had to share because I can't say that I haven't thought about trying it;)

Aubrey and Emma 1 / Mommy 0

Tonight Aubrey, between the hours of 4:30 -6:30 pm, did the following things:

1.  got into the chocolate chips (which were in a closed Tupperware container)
2.  got into the Doritos (which had a chip clip on it)
3.  squeezed out a juice box that Emma left out onto the kitchen floor
4.  dumped half of a large bottle of soft soap (it has a screw top lid) onto the bathroom floor
5.  tried to eat a red crayon

Tonight Emma, between the hours of 4:30-6:30 pm, did the following things:

1.  dumped all her crayons onto the living room floor and then cried for 15 minutes when I told her to clean them up
2.  made a huge mess of her room not 15 minutes after I had just finished cleaning it up
3.  yelled at me that her room could be as messy as she wanted it to be and there was nothing I could do about it
* she quickly learned that there was something that I actually could do about it
4.  took all the couch cushions off and made a big mess in the living room. 
5.  yelled at me after I told her to clean her living room mess that I should just send her to bed

And...that is just what I did.  Two girls got ready for bed and were in their beds for the night by 7pm. 


I miss Dan when he is gone.

Starting 31 off with a bang

Wow, it is Monday and I am happily exhausted from this weekend.  We kicked off my 31st birthday with a bang!  Friday began with the kids sleeping in.  I know, the greatest gift for a mom ever:)  When I woke up at 7:45am we had to rush around a bit to get everyone fed, dressed and out the door to take Dawson to school.  Once we had dropped him off I headed to Walmart to get our groceries.  The cupboard were getting pretty bare around here.  Emma came with me to help me shop.  She was great but had to look at EVERYTHING.  Sometimes though I wish that I could slow down more and be excited about all the little things like she is.  We made it home and between unloading the groceries, lunch, a small nap and a shower the afternoon flew by and it was time to pick up Dawson from school.  Our babysitter for the evening came about 5 pm and then Dan and I were off to my birthday date night.  Yay!

Here is Dan and I ready for a night out.

I picked The Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  It was awesome as always.  Dan laughed at me because I took a picture of my drink.  It was so yummy and pretty though I just needed a picture.  My delish sangria:)

Here is a picture of me branching out and trying something new.  Usually I stick with what I know and love, the plain cheesecake.  I decided it was time for me to live it up and I got the Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake extravaganza.  It was amazing!

After dinner Dan and I left for the concert.  We were going to see our favorite singer/songwriters Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken.  It was a home show so when we arrived at the venue it was an actually house.  The concert was being played in the basement of the house! 

Here is a picture of the basement and how close we were to the front "stage".

 Dan and I waiting for the concert to start.  We were both pretty excited.  It seemed so surreal that our favorite artists were so close to us.

 This is Sandra McCracken playing her guitar.  She even played one of my favorite songs of hers called Awake My Soul.

They played and talk for two hours.  It was fun to listen to them share a little about how they came to write certain songs and I enjoyed watching them interact with each other.  They took a few requests and wrapped everything up around 10pm.  Dan and I left and kept commenting the whole way home how awesome the evening was.  We had gone on one of our very first dates together to see Caedmon's Call at in Bartlesville Oklahoma 10+ years.  It was great to see Derek Webb again so many years later with Dan.

On Saturday we were up and around relaxing in the morning.  Emma had her very first soccer game in the afternoon.  She was excited almost beyond words.  Emma did a great job running after the ball.  It was pretty funny because at each kick off she would take off running after the ball and yelling this Braveheart like battle cry.  It was awesome!

Emma and her soccer pose:)

 Emma listening to her coach on what she is supposed to be doing and being reminded where her goal is!

That evening we had my birthday party with the kids.  We had a yummy steak dinner and opened presents.  The kids were so excited to have me open the gifts that they had picked out for me.  Emma picked out some pretty lotions and Dawson picked out for me a Harry Potter Lego set.  As I was opening it he jumped up and down in excitement.  I wish that we would have had it on video.  My brother and sister in law came a little later in the evening and we all had cake together.

I made a Battlestar Galactica cake.  This is the eye of Jupiter for all you BG geeks out there:)



On Sunday we spent the day hanging out with my brother Bryan and my sister in law Emily.  It is so much fun to have them come and visit.  Bryan spent a couple of hours playing on the trampoline with the kiddos.  It is one of my favorite things to watch my brother hang out with my kids.  Dawson just adores him.  On Sunday evening we had some friends over for a Fantasy Football draft.  We had a fun time drafting our teams for the new season.  We ended a little late but all the kids played so well and it was a great ending to the weekend.  Over all thirty-one has started out well.  What a memorable weekend we were able to have together.

Rainy Day Fun - Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes

Yesterday morning we woke up to rain.  As a mother all weather that prevents the kids from playing outside is a pain.  For some reason my children are not really good at playing inside.  They like to watch movies and play the wii but I have a hard time getting them to just play in their rooms.  They don't want to play by themselves but Dawson never wants to do what Emma wants and vice versa.  So when the weather keeps us inside I am always looking for things to keep the kiddos busy.  I got this idea from my sister as we were talking on the phone the other day.  My sister Meghan is looking into some fun classes to put my niece Abby into this fall/winter.  One of the classes sounded like a lot of fun.  In the class you read a book (that has a food in it) then you make the food and have a craft while the food is cooking.  I thought that this was a great idea!  How many books do we have around the house with food in it?  I took stock of our books and these are some of the titles that I found:

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Nurneroff

If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Nurneroff

Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes by Jane O'Conner

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

Today we chose to read Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes.  I happened to have cake mix on hand so together we whipped up a batch of chocolate cupcakes.  I frosted the cupcakes and then let Dawson and Emma put some "fancy" sprinkles on.  The kids really enjoyed this time together and there was no fighting! 

Dawson had fun with this activity even though it was more of a "girl story" as he put it.

Cupcakes are always better with as much pink sprinkles as you can find.

These cupcakes are delectable!

I think that I am going to plan a bit more and have the ingredients for making jam on hand to go with the book Jamberry.  The kids could make labels to go on the jars as a craft too.  I know that the kids would love to help make spaghetti and meatballs sometime.  I found this hat craft that would fit in perfectly with the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  http://lessonplans.craftgossip.com/spaghetti-and-meatball-hat-craft/2009/10/02

Really the options are endless.  Which is great because living in Iowa means that you are going to have to deal with all kinds of weather.  I need to be able to keep the kids busy so that I don't end up going too crazy!

Hey Mom, guess what?

"Hey Mom, guess what?"  This question has been asked often in our house.  It has taken the form of Dawson telling me a long, drawn out story about Star Wars or a video game he has been playing.  It has been to tell me that Aubrey has emptied all the baby wipes out of the container and spread them all around the living room while I was downstairs putting a load of laundry in.  However, today this question took the form of Emma with her underwear around her ankles. 

I was changing Aubrey's diaper and as I look up to see Emma there she is in the hallway with her princess underwear around her feet.  She says to me, with all her Emma enthusiasm, "Hey Mom, guess what?  You go potty here and poopy here! (she proceeds to show me before I can stop her)  Isn't that awesome?  I can't believe that I figured it out!" 

What am I supposed to say in these moments?  I can't even tell you how many times she has stunned me into silence.  I decide to go for the "don't make it a big deal".  So I smile and say, "Yep, now can you pull up your pants?"  She does and wonders off to her room.  As she is walking away Dawson turns to me and says, "I did NOT want to see that!"  I have to laugh now as I say to him, "Me neither Dawson but Emma just likes to tell us when she learns something new."  To which he replies, "Well, I am tired of seeing her stinky booty! (long pause)  Hey Mom, guess what?"

Weekend Fun

We had a fun and busy weekend.  I started the weekend off with a bang at the Rheumatologist office.  I had a follow up appointment with my doctor to see how the methotrexate was helping.  Thankfully it has helped me a great deal without very many side effects.  I was thankful to have Dan go with me to my appointment.  He was able to meet Dr Doud for the first time and ask her some questions that he had.  We talked about my fatigue and she felt that with as tired as I have been feeling it was more of a sign that I was still in a flare then a side effect of the methotrexate.  She prescribed me a medication called Plaquenil that I will take twice a day.  She wanted to try this to see if it will help with my fatigue.  This is a relatively safe drug (in the scheme of things it is nothing compared to the other meds I am on) and she would prefer to try this in addition to the methotrexate then to have to increase my methotrexate dosage.  Dan and I had laughed on our way home how easily I took the new medication news.  I mean really, what's one more?

Friday afternoon the kids and I loaded up the van and left for Ankeny to visit my brother and sister in law.  My brother was having a surprise graduation party on Saturday.  After lots of hard work he is graduating from college.  When we got to town we stopped by Emily's salon and she cut Emma's hair.  I had tried to fix Emma's hair after the last hair cutting incident but it was starting to look like a mullet.  Emily was able to even it out and make it look pretty cute.  She also had a talk with Emma about how Auntie would be more then happy to cut her hair anytime she wanted.  She didn't need to take matters into her own hands:)  After the kids went to bed that night I got to enjoy some Emily time while Bryan "raided".  I had so much fun looking at fabric, quilting magazines and eating our favorite snack (popcorn with m&m's and Pepsi).  I wish that we didn't live so far away from each other.  Although, it does make me cherish the time we do have together all the more. 

Saturday morning came and it was raining.  We ended up having to spill the beans to Bryan about the party.  We decorated the house and got all the food ready.  We had walking tacos for everyone which was new to me.  Basically you take a small bag of Doritos and crunch it up.  Then in the bag you add the taco meat, lettuce, sour cream and salsa.  Mix it together with your fork and...there you have it, a walking taco.  Dawson had convinced some of the guys at the party to join in a game of baseball.  He had a blast playing baseball with Uncle Bryan and all of his buddies.  That night at bed time Dawson thanked God for having such a fun time playing baseball with the guys.  It was sweet.  As a graduation present Emily had Dan make a Huskers bags set.  The kids actually helped Dan build and paint it.  We pulled them out at the graduation party and had fun trying it out.  FYI, Dawson is way better at bags then I am:)

Aubrey watching everyone playing games.

Bryan and Dad in the middle of a heated game.

Emma giving Papa a high-five

Emma painting.  Do you notice that Dan had her paint the inside:)

She was so proud of her work.



Summer vacation is here

Summer vacation is here and to start it off we watched one of our favorite shows, Phineas and Ferb.  What a great way to kick off our summer break by watching two boys build a roller coaster in their backyard!  Now this week we did not build a rocket or give a monkey a shower but the kids did drive each other insane if they weren't kept busy.  I think that we have reached that stage with the kids that they really get on each others nerves.  I think that Emma and Dawson were kept so busy with school that they forgot how to just hang out at home.  So, we have had a little adjusting time.  I tried to keep them busy which cut down on the bickering.

We joined a private pool this year and it opened last weekend.  We have gone three times this week and would have gone more if it were up to Emma.  Basically she wakes up and puts on her swimming suit and it ready to go to the pool.  It is a long wait, poor girl, from 6:30 am when she wakes up to 12 pm when the pool opens.  Aubrey has also had a blast at the pool.  We got her a baby floater so that I can keep her with me in the big pool and still keep an eye on Dawson and Emma.  The kids are jumping off the diving board and having a great time.

Dawson had his first tball game this week.  He had been talking about it for a week.  I was so thankful that Dan was able to make it to the first one.  It was really important to Dawson that Dan be able to come and it worked out perfect.  Dan was there and he even helped a bit at the game.  He got called to work at the very end of the game.  Here are a few pictures of our buddy having a blast.

Here is Dawson so excited to leave for his first tball game.

Dawson played first base for an inning.  Dan was helping as the first base coach.  Mostly that meant he had to show the kids where second base was:)

Dawson getting ready to bat.

Aubrey relaxing and watching the game.  She had fun clapping her hands and cheering for brother.

We also went to the zoo this week.  It is such a blessing to have the Omaha Zoo so close.  We packed up a lunch and spent the afternoon walking around.  This year they have added more tables to eat at, more food at the snack bars and they added two playground sets by the sea lions.  The kids had a blast taking some time to rest from walking to play on the playgrounds.  What a great addition!  We went into the desert dome first and after walking around we went down below and saw all the night creatures.  We had to walk quickly past the bats because Emma was really scared of them.  Then when we walked to the swamp area Dawson began telling us all about the "crocs".  Apparently someone has been watching Swamp People with Dad:)  We also had to stop and feed all the fish.  The koi pond is the place that we have to go to every time we come to the zoo.  Aubrey ended up falling asleep towards the end.  Everyone was pretty worn out from walking all around the zoo.  Mommy included.

Dawson in the Desert Dome.

The kids feeding the fish.

The koi fish fighting for a snack.

Aubrey kicking back in her stroller.



We finished up the week with our Mops and Pops bbq at our friends farm.  It was great to get together with my Mops friends and their families.  The kiddos had so much fun running all around the farm and playing with their friends.  We had a great week and I was able to pretty much keep up with the kids.  Although, I did learn that I need to make sure I have got a good sunscreen on.  I can't wait for next week!  Dawson has Jedi camp all next week, we have a couple of play dates at the park, tball practice and a game and then I have ladies bible study at our house on Friday morning.  Gotta keep them too busy to get in trouble:)

The Big Move

Saturday morning started much like any other day around here.  The kids watched cartoons, had some pancakes for breakfast and then...I asked them to clean their room.  Oh the horror!  I swear, I hate telling the kids to clean their rooms as much as they hate doing it.  It is constant nagging to quit playing and start cleaning, yelling about the fact that one child isn't cleaning as much as the other child, a million trips to the bathroom, crying, failed attempts to bribe (yes, I am not above bribing my children).  Well, through all that Dawson finally yells in frustration, "I wish I had a room all to myself!"  Dan ended up getting Dawson out of the house and to the store and I stayed home with the girls.  As I was folding laundry I was thinking about Dawson.  He has grown up so much in the past year.  He is no longer our little buddy toddling around the house.  He is a big boy now.  He has big boy toys that he hates having his sister get into.  I thought, he probably really does need his own space now.  At lunch I mentioned it to Dan and he agreed.  The girls were going to move in together and Dawson was getting his own space.  They kids, both Emma and Dawson, were very excited about this new change coming their way.  Actually, Emma said that there was a girls room and a boys room now so I could move in with the girls and Dawson and Dan could share a room together.  I told Emma that I would miss Daddy and she said, "He's only a husband."  :)

In true Westfall form we started moving right after lunch.  We took apart the bunk beds and moved all of Dawson's stuff into Aubrey's room and moved Aubrey's crib and everything in with Emma.  I spent the afternoon organizing and rearranging the two rooms.  Later this week we will paint Dawson's room (he doesn't really care for the pink and green walls) and decorate with Star Wars.  I will be sure to post pictures when it is all done.  I'll admit that I was a little nervous about moving the girls together already.  It had always been the plan that they would share a room but I didn't think that we would do it this early.  I was worried that they might wake each other up, Aubrey still wakes in the night and Emma is such an early riser.  So far so good though.  Aubrey actually seems pretty excited about the change too.  She loves playing with Emma in her new room and I think that she likes that there is someone there with her in the morning.  I was laying in bed this morning and I could hearAubrey talking.  Then, I heard Emma talking to her and soon you could hear giggling and laughing.  As I crept in the room I saw that Emma had climbed in Aubrey's crib and was laying right next to her.  They were just laughing and talking to each other in bed.  I wish that I would have had my camera.  It was a precious moment.  I look forward to hearing lots more giggles come from that room!

I chuckle as I tell you how much Dawson loves being in his own room.  He spent all morning in his room playing with his Lego's and kenex sets which he often didn't play with.  I think that he is relishing the fact that he can create something and nobody is there to break it.  I am happy that we were able to fulfill a need for him.  Although, it does make me a little sad when I look in his room and see that it is a boys room and not a toddler room.  At least he still wants me to pray with him at night, turn on his music and say his bed night saying, "Night, night.  Sleep tight.  Don't let the bed bugs bite.  You better sleep really tight because they really do bite!" 

The Magic Is Gone!

The magic is gone!  That is the funny line of the day.  We had gone to the opening of the new Panera in town and Emma left with her own purple balloon.  She immediately named the balloon Emma and began talking to it just like it was a real person.  Just as Emma and Emma were getting ready to settle down and watch a movie during quiet time tragedy struck.  The string came off Emma (balloon Emma) and that purple balloon began flying around the room and landed in a pitiful deflated heap.  You should have seen real Emma's face!  She was horror struck.  Dan and I being the sensitive parents that we are just started laughing.  I was finally able to convince Emma that I could fix it by blowing it up again.  I blew up the balloon  and retied the string to the end.  As I handed it back to Emma she gave me this disappointed look and she said, "It's not as good anymore mom.  The magic is gone."  This time I was able to keep it together and not laugh out loud but just barely.

We had some excitement this afternoon when Dawson arrived home from school.  He was so proud because he had finished his third challenge sight word card.  He has inherited my love of reading and Dawson has worked through the kindergarten, first, second and three challenge sight word cards.  It was fun to watch him run up to me when he got home and show me his completed card.  I hope that he will always love to read!  I have so many books that I can't wait to show him:)

I am taking it easy again this evening.  I may have overdone it today and now my joints are pretty painful.  I think that I need to adjust my thinking during the day.  Generally I feel that during the day I need to keep busy.  I worry that I am being lazy if I am sitting around.  There is always something that needs to be done around here!  However, I am doing too much and in the evenings I sputter out.  I end up spending the whole evening doing nothing because it hurts too much.  Tomorrow I am going to take more breaks and not feel guilty about it.  Hopefully then I won't be completely useless by dinner time!

I want to remember this last story forever.  Last night the kids and I were delivering laundry to some dear friends of ours.  My friend Jennifer's husband is battling brain cancer and we had signed up to wash their laundry.  As we were taking it back to her house I mentioned to the kids that their friend Anna wasn't feeling very well.  Dawson immediately pipped up that we should pray for her.  Let's do it right now he said.  Dawson and Emma proceeded to pray over Anna right there in the car on the way to her house.  I took the laudry in the house while the kids waited for me in the car.  As I brought in the laundry I was happy to see that Anna was perking up and feeling a little bit better.  When I came back to the car I told the kids that I had saw Anna and she was .feeling better.  Dawson exclaimed, "It's because I prayed for Anna!  God just went poof and now she is feeling better!"  It was such a joyful moment for him.  The magic was not gone!