Thanksgiving 2013

My heart is full.  My proverbial gas tank maybe a little empty after such a wonderful weekend, but my heart is FULL.

We traveled out to Denver and spent the weekend with our adopted family – always a good time!  There’s never an inadequate amount of hugs or smiles or laughs or food…just time.   Would any amount ever be enough??  I think not…

That's a good-looking, gracious bunch...
That’s a good-looking, gracious bunch…

We stayed at the {beautiful, pregnant} bestie’s house.  It was so nice to spend some time with her and her hubby before their lives get even busier with baby.  She’s scheduled to arrive the 16th!!  EEP!

Gorgeous pic (taken my sister Stephanie Kelley)
Gorgeous pic (taken by sister Stephanie Kelley)

They have a piano in their foyer and Sawyer couldn’t get enough of it!  We’d set the timer for five or so minutes and she’d play her heart out.  She and Dessa sat down and played together one night before supper, which thought was especially wonderful.

Adorable.
Adorable.

Wryder was teething all weekend (hello, top teeth!) and wasn’t the happiest he’s ever been but he got to play in the laundry basket while we got ready for supper and I think he actually liked it!

Containment, people...containment!  ;)
Containment, people…containment! 😉

On Saturday, Wrex took the kids to run some errands down south and I got to go out and Christmas shop.  Alone.  I’m never alone!  I had Starbucks for breakfast and Red Mango for lunch and walked until my feet were about to fall off. It was nice to get in and out of places so quick and to have a little break, but I was ready to meet back up with the troops that afternoon.

Sunday morning, the lovely and oh-so-talented Stormie (I know you haven’t forgotten about her) took our family photos.  God bless her.  It’s not easy with two incredibly unphotogenic people, one toddler with a vicious smile and a 7 month old.  I can’t wait to see the finished images.

We spent the rest of Sunday with the lovely Stukas family.  They bless us more than words can say.  They have four gorgeous kiddos that are incredibly sweet, kind and well-behaved and we love that they love Sawyer as much as she loves them!  The Lord has interwoven our lives in a beautiful way and we are so so so so thankful for them.  I can’t fully describe what it’s like to have people in your life that you trust so fully and implicitly.  Wonder if they’d ever move to Holyoke….hmmmm….

How do we know so many beautiful people?!
How do we know so many beautiful people?!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.  So needed.  We grew so much during our time in Denver and we made some phenomenal friends that we miss being able to do daily life with.  We know that we know that we know that this is where the Lord called us and that makes missing them a little easier, but miss them we do.  Thankful for the time.  My heart is full.

That’s My Girl

I had gotten a few Christmas things out of storage this week for a MOPS event we had downtown, one of which was a little, rustic Christmas tree.  I have a set of two and the smallest one wound up in the house, thanks to Sawyer.  This girl LOVES “decker-ing” (decorating) and she loves Christmas  – where EVER does she get those passions from?!  Ahem.  Needless to say, this little tree has provided lots of entertainment.

Last night, we plugged it and she went to town decker-ing it.

IMG_3225She decided to make the little tree, little brother’s tree and had the idea to use his toys to adorn the branches.  Genius.

IMG_3227I particularly love the pacifier…

IMG_3226Daddy even helped her make a star for the top…because every good tree has to have a star on top.  Just ask her; she’ll tell ya.

IMG_3224She was quite proud of the finished product, as was I!

IMG_3228She’s the sweetest little thing, that girl.  People keep asking her what she wants for Christmas and all she keeps saying is, “All of us family together!”  That’s my girl…

A Good Day and a Gift from Goo Goo

Today?  Was a really good day.  I think we were all desperate for some family time together that didn’t involve someone feeling like death warmed over.  We had breakfast and cooked some pretend food in the toy room kitchen…

We let Sawyer get a little outside time in since it wasn’t too chilly or windy and we cooked some more in the barn…

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IMG_3104We checked the mail and found we had a gift from Goo Goo so we all put it to good use…

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IMG_3132IMG_3133The kiddos bathed together and got all snuggled up in their jammies…we ate a little supper and Sawyer watched a little show before bed.  It was just a simple, good, familial day…my favorite kind.

Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath

Sawyer LOVES bath time and she’s been begging to take one with brother.  Saturday evening, we thought that was a great plan to get everyone wound down and ready to relax before the time change and church on Sunday.

What a strategically placed skillet - ha!
What a strategically placed skillet – ha!

We plopped brother in the Bumbo and away we went.  (Honestly, is that not the best baby invention, oh….ever?!)

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He only tried to float away once.

He LOVED splashing the water and did far better about having water in his eyes than his sister does.

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No tears

They played and played and played.

She loves to hold his hand
She loves to hold his hand

We got a little scrubbing in and then it was time to get out, much to someone’s dismay.  Wryder cried and cried and cried.   We’ve never seen him that upset about something other than being tired or hungry!

Sawyer helped daddy make some baby food, sans clothes, of course…

Buns!
Buns!

and then they snuggled up to watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while mom got supper ready.

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Again with the hand holding…

These two make bring so much joy to our lives!  We are so blessed that Sawyer loves her little brother and wants to spend time with him and play with him and include him.  We hope to continue to foster that all of their days, and I’m certain we’ll have more baths like this one…

One Little, Two Little. . .Indians

After a friend sent me this overly adorable costume for little Wryder (thanks, Emily!!)

This is not Wryder.  ;)
This is not Wryder. 😉

I knew I wanted Sawyer to be an indian with him.  Our church’s harvest carnival was this afternoon and we found her costume…….yesterday.  (Phew.)  Nonna let us borrow one she had and I was just gonna take it and add a little fluff/beads/fringe…until Wrexy came across this little number at the thrift store.

She. Is. ADORABLE!
She. Is. ADORABLE!

It was PERFECT (and needed no extra work, mind you!)  I threw together a head dress, painted a couple of stripes, threw on a bow and arrow……and the CUTEST little indian I’ve ever seen made her debut!

Seriously, the weaponry made the outfit
Seriously, the weaponry made the outfit

I thought the carnival started at 3:00, so we ate an earlier lunch with the thought that the kids would still get a decent little nap in before we had to leave.  I fibbed (oopsie!) and told Sawyer that Mr. Russ (our pastor) said that all the kids had to take a nap or they couldn’t come to the carnival, so she snuggled right down!  Then, I decided to check the official start time.  Good thing I did!  It started at 2:00!  So, no nap for Sawyer.  We got up and got around and dashed out the door.  As we were driving, she said, “Will you still tell Mr. Russ I slept good?”  HAHAHAHA  Oh, geez.

Pretty sure anybody would let this face into the carnival..
Pretty sure anybody would let this face into the carnival, nap or not.

Daddy fixed Wryder’s costume so I could wear him in the baby bjourn but have it look like an actual papoose.

He rocked it.
He rocked it.
He was thrilled - really!
He was thrilled – really!
I love these 2 little indians...
I love these 2 little indians…

Sawyer played A LOT of games and got A LOT of loot!

Searching for pennies
Searching for pennies
Tossing balls
Tossing balls
ANY game with Kenyon is fun in her book!
ANY game with Kenyon is fun in her book!
Bean bag toss
Bean bag toss
She won a root beer!  IS there a better prize?  Not in her world!
She won a root beer! IS there a better prize? Not in her world!

She got to help drive Mr. Koop’s horses, Rose and Ruby!

She was a happy girl!
She was a happy girl!

Super fun time with super fun people – how do ya beat that?!  Thursday, we’ll head back to Grant to trick-or-treat downtown and then head home for our annual Phipps Family Camp In!  Until then, we’ll attempt to get a little rest under our belts…

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Harvest carnival casualty

Weekend Update

I let this happen…

IMG_2696Paint the cat got to come in the house under the condition that she didn’t let him go.  And she didn’t.  Poor cat.  They did do a little snuggling in bed, to which he purred quite contentedly.

IMG_2697Wryder had got to play dress up with sister.  This is her rendition of King Wryder.  I think he looks quite dashing.

IMG_2686I learned that I need to be a little more specific about what it means when I tell Sawyer to put her cup in the dishwasher.  I couldn’t get on to her, because she DID put her cup in the dishwasher…

IMG_2694We checked out a school auction on Saturday and came home with some fabulous finds, including quite a few old-school, pull down maps for $1!

IMG_2716And we got 36 of these beauties (for $0.11/each!) that can’t WAIT for me to paint them some fun, vibrant color.

IMG_2741WD looked quite dapper sporting orange and blue for the Broncos.  His auntie got him this CA-YOOT vest and we broke it out for the brisk fall day.

IMG_2765We did a little makeup.  And a lot of lipstick.  A looooot of lipstick.  Thankfully, momma spared Wryder from this activity.

IMG_2708I celebrated a #10 showing for the Red Raiders in the BCS standings! They’re playing some really good ball right now!  photoI can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am that Kliff Kingsbury is back in town as head coach.  He played for Mike Leach in the air raid glory days and he’s putting his spin on that style which seems to be working well for us.  Plus, he’s not too bad to look at it…

1176228_10153227924355335_1895838986_nWe mourned a Bronco loss.  🙁

photoI’m not worried about them regarding their standings the rest of the season, I just really wanted Peyton to have a little taste of redemption.

All in all, a really good weekend!  We have a CRAZY, busy week and then this weekend………I get to celebrate my bestie and her sweet baby girl!

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Can’t wait to see her/them!  Why-oh-why can’t Denver be in my backyard?!  And why-oh-why can’t the weekend last all week?

WDP is 6 Months Old

Wryder Douglas Phipps is 6 months old today!

Hey, that's me!
Hey, that’s me!

How, how did this happen SO fast?!!

6 months looks good on me
6 months looks good on me

It feels like these 6 months flew by WAY faster than Sawyer’s first 6 months did.  Oh, it’s hard on the heart to be a mommy, ya know it?

At 6 months…

  • you roll all over the house to get around.
  • you have two, CUTE little teeth.

    See 'em?!
    See ’em?!
  • you LOVE your sister.  You will just about break your neck to catch her glance.

    She loves me
    She loves me
  • you are a GREAT eater! Sweet potatoes are your favorite…carrots, not so much…but I trick you by mixing the two.  🙂
  • you are the smiliest, giggliest baby I’ve ever met!  Extrovert perhaps?
  • you are incredibly dexterous!  (Pretty sure you’re gonna be a lot like daddy in that department.)

    Let me at that camera!
    Let me at that camera!
  • you’re a REALLY easy going baby…as long as you’re not hungry…or overly tired.  Again, a little like your daddy – ha!
  • you “talk” A LOT but no real words have come out yet.  (I’m still hoping for “momma” to be first…)
  • you LOVE to jump or stand (on someone’s lap) and don’t much care for lying down.
  • you still attempt to suck your thumb when you first go to sleep but we just keep putting that paci in.  (Lord help us in a few months…)
  • you have the softest, sweetest little head and face.

    No more pictures - I'm gonna go blind!
    No more pictures – I’m gonna go blind!
  • you’re wearing 12 month clothes and weigh around 20 pounds.
  • you delight me more than I EVER imagined that a little boy could!

I love you, Wryder Roo!  Sawyer thinks we should celebrate you tonight…with a candle and a happy birthday song…and I’m guessing she’ll get her way.  You are most worthy of a celebration, indeed!

Mwuah!
Mwuah!

It Just Makes Sense

Ever since we were expecting Wryder, we wanted to attempt to have the kids share a room – based solely on the layout of our house if nothing else.  We have two bedrooms upstairs, which are ours and Sawyer’s, and two downstairs, which are a guest room/craft room and a guest room/play room.  We really wanted to have all of us on the same floor for convenience and safety’s sake, so sharing a room just made sense.

About two months before Wryder was due, Wrex and I moved downstairs.  I was making WAY too many middle-of-the-night trips downstairs to use the bathroom.  My deep sleep cycles were non-existent and I felt like a zombie most of the day, so moving down to where the bathroom was, just made sense.

Wryder soon came along and he has slept in our room since he was born.  It makes his middle of the night milk cravings a lot more bearable than trudging upstairs and (potentially) waking sister with all the crying.

Now that winter is upon us, we’ve been attempting to get our house (inside and out) winterized before fall is whisked away and the snow sets in.  In the process, Wrex had the grand idea of everyone living on the main floor for winter.  Our house was built in the 19-teens, so it’s old and quirky totally vintage which means there is no forced heat upstairs, just electric, radiant heat.  He did the math and he thinks we can save $700 – $1000 this winter alone!  So, you guessed it, moving everyone downstairs just made sense.

Bed(room) partners
Bed(room) partners

Our two cuties are officially sharing a room and loving every minute of it!  Sawyer is anyways.  She was so excited about sleeping with brother that she couldn’t sleep during her first naptime stay, but we understood!  We were excited, too!  Wryder’s pretty easy going so we’ll just say he doesn’t mind, either.

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Sawyer LOVES her tractor “beat” from Aunt Lori! She said “beat” for the word blanket ever since she was one and the name’s stuck!

He wakes up between four and five every morning ravenous but has yet to wake her with his crying.  She wakes up around seven and now has our permission to get out of bed (if she is certain that it’s light outside) and come get us in our room.  It’s been fun to watch her be excited about gaining more freedom and responsibility because she’s proved so trustworthy about not getting out of bed when that was the rule.

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Looking in from the living room
A little tight
It’s a little tight.  We thought of putting the toy box in the barn for now but I just couldn’t.  I LOVE it.  It was the kiddos’ great-great-great-grandfather’s show box.  This HAS to be in our house, right?!
Bookshelves made by daddy.  Love.
Bookshelves made by daddy. Love.
The art wall
The art wall.  It just got cleaned and sorted.  Don’t worry.  Sawyer loves office supplies..it’ll be full again soon.
A family photo
A family photo
Some of her favorite things
Some of her favorite things
Ocedo the cat wanted in on the action
Ocedo the cat wanted in on the action.  Love this hanging thing from IKEA, by the way.  It’s the PERFECT place for all those blasted stuff animals.

The layout feels a little square to me, but I keeping reminding myself of the temporariness (which is actually a real word, by the way)…and of the money we hope to pocket.  Plus, it’s really nice having both of them down here with us, and it’s been REALLY nice getting Wryder into his own room, but still on the same floor.  Here’s to hoping we really do notice a big savings in our electric bill…because saving money just makes cents.  <—  See what I did there?  Oh, Lord help me…a short night plus a long day makes for a cheesy momma. 😉

We Don’t Say No to Sister

Ever since Wryder joined the family (out of the womb), Sawyer has vacillated between wanting to be a baby and wanting to be his parent.  Quite the range, yes?

These days, she frequently wants to “play baby.”  She’ll goo and gah, want to be fed a bottle, be burped, want her (pretend) diaper changed – the works.  You know, because I don’t get enough practice with just one…  When Wryder eats baby food, she wants to eat applesauce; when Wryder’s on his playmat, she lays with him to play with the hanging toys; when Wryder’s not in his carseat, she is.

Lately, Wryder has been enamored with his feet and likes to suck his toe from time to time.  So, yep, you guessed it.  Sawyer tried that, too.  This weekend, she was sitting in the chair and decided to suck her toe like brother.  As she did so, she proceeded to lose her balance and fall out of the chair, biting her toe in the process.  Tears ensued, coupled with a little bit of whining and I found myself saying, “I’m sorry honey but you’re the one that bit your toe.”  And then?  I got a fit of the giggles.  It was one of those “I never imagined I’d say THAT sentence” moments and I had to leave the room!  On the plus side, she hasn’t sucked her toe again.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we’re seeing her firstborn roots begin to bloom as she’s taken to simulating our discipline when it comes to Wryder.  She likes to chime in and say, “Hands down, brother” while he’s eating or help him take his thumb out of his mouth if he’s trying to suck on it.  Yesterday as we were driving, we hear from the backseat, “Wryder, we don’t say no to sister.”  Wrex and I exchanged glances and tried our hardest not to drive the pick up off the road as we suppressed our laughter.  Keep in mind Wryder can’t talk yet but his facial expressions and body language must have screamed “no”?!  Who knows!  Regardless it was a funny (but not) moment.

Wrex is a firstborn and I’m a firstborn, so the kid comes by it honestly.  Needless to say, we have some correcting to do and some boundaries to find in regards to her big-sister authority.  At the same time, pretty sure brother will be well watched over…by at least one of his three parents.  😉