A Christmas morning...

Here are some pics especially for family. (These are genuine clips of what life is like at the Wood home in the morning sans daylight clothing and brushes (hair and tooth)....don't judge too harshly.)

This is how I found Kira dressed when I went to get the kids up...don't ask.

I think I can, I think I can...

Whew, what a day. It wasn't totally a day from "you know where" but just one of those days you're SO ready to be over. One of those days that starts with a headache, little sleep and no husband. Oh, and two very LOUD children. Now, I'm not going to name names, but I had one of those parent-challenging days because of one of my children...the one who won't take naps...the one who decides to take her underwear off to do her business on the floor during supposed naps...the one who runs away from me while trying to load two children into the car...the one who laughs at my futile attempts to discipline patiently...the one who suddenly is literally deaf to every single word that comes out of my mouth...that one. Of course, I lost my internal battle to be patient halfway through the day. It didn't help that I had disregarded my mess of a house so that I could spend time wasting some of that mischievous energy playing outside all afternoon. Didn't seem to help. But after I had exasperatedly plopped said uncooperative child into bed after yet another mini battle tonight, I came downstairs still fuming. Part of me wondered in awe how the women in my life were able to raise so many more children (and still are) and come away from the experience completely sane! Can I really do this?? Of course, after about fifteen minutes, I start thinking about all the things I could have done differently today, worrying if Ki- uh, I mean, said child, would grow up remembering this day and how awful her mother was, scarred for life. It didn't help that I was going through pictures I had taken of her today, chastising myself for getting so frustrated and upset at such a cute, innocent(-looking) child. As I sat there feeling like the biggest failure of a mother, I noticed her face...her smile. It's so...genuine. Then, a tiny, timid thought passes quickly through my mind, You can't be doing that bad, look how happy she is! I almost didn't catch it. I guess, in the end, I hope she can filter through the raised voice, time-outs, and tears and know how much I truly love her and love being her mother. Because I really do. I guess maybe I can do this.

I think she's thinking about how unfair mommy's been today.

Grandmas...

This last week my mom and grandma came up for a visit. It's starting to become an annual fall tradition. It was the first time that my grandma was able to see Alexis. I'm so glad that the girls are able to develop a relationship with their great-grandma (and their other great-grandparents, for that matter). I have many fond memories of my own great-grandparents. I hope that distance and time don't deter these memories for the girls. Kira had so much fun. We had some "unspoiling" to do after they left, but I'm glad she enjoyed her grandmas. Thanks for all the time, gifts, yummy food, and love! We miss you!

Looking for the itsy bitsy spider

It must be a grandmother thing-- taking advantage of every photog opportunity of grandkids, not matter where it may be, even in the middle of the grocery store aisle!

Going red...

So I decided to gather every shred of courage I could and fulfill a little cosmetic fantasy of mine. What do you think?

Ok, so I know it doesn't rank up there with Debra Messing or Lucille Ball, but I kinda like it!

***Special thanks to my newly discovered stylist, Christopher (great job, hon!).

Halloween (a little late)...

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

So I'm a little behind in posting Halloween pictures...sorry. We had a little more fun this year than we did last year. Kira was a ladybug with antennae issues. She was excited about getting dressed up. But again, once the novelty of getting free candy wore off and attentions were focused on actually eating it instead, trick-or-treating ("trunk"-or-treating, actually) was a lost cause. We attended our ward "fall festival" which I think Kira enjoyed. She liked the little booth where you made a spider web out of yarn (any excuse to throw something and it be okay).

There were other cute games/activities and best of all (for me anyway), homemade root beer, complete with dry ice. Trunk-or-treating was fun but of course, Kira was impatient to sample some of her loot. This was on Thursday. On Halloween day, we attended the SAA's trunk-or-treat. By then, Kira was unimpressed and would have rather sat with my mom at our truck and eat the candy we brought. Alexis was pretty mellow and went with the flow. For the ward activity, we dressed her up in the chili pepper costume (she was hot, hot, hot! (I know, I couldn't help it)) but let her off the hook the next day. There were lots of other Halloween opportunities in town but I don't think it would have been worth it to drag an uncooperative two-year-old to all of it. Maybe next year...

YAY!

When I went outside today to check the mail, besides being met with the icy wind that has swept over northern Missouri the last few days, there in front of my door was this!

The package had a note with the receipt that just said "SHMILY". That's a phrase Christopher and I have used on "love" notes since we were dating. It means "See How Much I Love You". What an awesome guy! Not only has he had to put up with my new and incessant obsession with these books that has taken up ALOT of my time recently, but he actually got me my own set to have on hand whenever I feel the need to waste more time! What a guy! Thanks, hon!

The match is in...

And we're going to Wyandotte, MI!!! We're so excited! Christopher will be rotating at a Henry Ford hospital and I'm sure will have an amazing experience! This was our number one choice, so we're pretty stoked. Basically, our future was in the hands of a computer program that was designed to match students into one of six locations of their choice. With a limited number of seats we were kind of anxious. Thankfully, we got what we wanted. It's a lot further from family but we know this is for the best. We'll be a whole lot closer to an airport. Detroit is about 20 minutes away so we'll have access to a city again! Wyandotte is right by the Detroit River and of course, we'll be pretty close to some water again, too! We feel very blessed and can't wait to start this next chapter in our course through med school.

Sweet girls...

Still-a-bration...

Last Friday, the school had it's annual Still-a-Bration. This year, they did a western theme. There was an hour and half before the dinner and talent show where the kids could have some fun, too. There were pony rides, a bouncing "castle", roping, "branding" (sticker tattoos), bean bag toss, coloring, bubbles, treats, etc. Kira had so much fun! Of course, we noticed the horses first. Luckily for us, they were just unloading the ponies when we got there. We were one of first people in line, which was nice since it was a very popular event and the line grew behind us quickly. I was worried Kira would freak out as soon as she got on the pony's back, but she acted like it was something she did everyday. Totally cool and composed. Not even really ecstatic or giggly. She seemed to enjoy it, though and of course, later wanted to ride again. I'm just glad she didn't throw a fit and start screaming! I don't get her...won't come near her grandmother's tiny little puppy but has no problem having a 400 hundred pound animal between her legs! We did take pictures but with our camera phone and I'm still trying to figure out how to get them on my computer. All in all, with all the fun and games and ending the night roasting marshmallows by a large fire, we had a great family home evening!

Twilight...

Yep, I'm officially addicted. It certainly took me long enough. I felt like the last person in the world to have finally started reading the series. But Jaime, a good friend of mine, got me to read her copy of Twilight so that we could go to see the movie when it comes out next month. I wasn't sure what all the hype was about and I really didn't have much interest in reading them. Vampire-teen novel? Really? But after hearing that my mom and both sisters had read them and were anxiously awaiting the final novel, I figured I'd get around to it sometime. Glad, I did it? Heck, yeah! It's only taken me a week to read all four (thanks, Julie!). I don't think I could have dealt with finishing one book and having to wait for the next to come out. This was the best way to go!

Tongue 'n cheek...

Well, I now know that I can make it through a situation where my child is bleeding profusely in the upright position. Last Sunday, Kira was brushing her teeth and somehow fell and bumped her chin (I think, Christopher was the one in the room at the time) which caused her to bite through her tongue. Of course, she probably didn't bleed as much as it seemed but when I rushed into the bathroom the first thing I saw was this red waterfall coming out of my baby's mouth! Luckily, the bleeding stopped within a few minutes and we were able to calm her down enough to check out the damage. The picture below doesn't do the cut justice. It was pretty nasty. I think she's going to have a permanent scar but she's a trooper. And I must say, so are we, as parents! That can be a pretty traumatic experience for the faint-hearted!





Alexis hates being on her stomach for tummy time (what baby doesn't?). But while we still push the dreaded tummy time, I worry that she spends a lot of time on her back. So we borrowed a Bumbo chair (thanks, Jenny) so that Alexis can work on her neck support and be able to be upright and view the at times chaotic, yet very entertaining, world around her. She seems so much older just sitting up! Luckily, she still has that baby face...I love those cheeks!

This is how you'll find Lexis most of the time these days, hand in her mouth and drool down her front!

Lucky...

The other day, Christopher was just reaffirming to me his lack of luck. It's true, Lady Luck just really isn't his lady. If you know a little bit about his history, you'd understand. But a few days later he got an email saying he had won something. And here it is:

Nothing big to most of you, but it was awesome for him. He got it in a drawing that he put in for at a booth at Hospital Day at school. This is now the sacred guardian of our Office season 4 episodes. It's so funny how we had been talking about getting a big(ger) screen TV for our anniversary (of course, we never went anywhere with the idea) and how cool it would be but now we are fascinated with watching everything we can on this tiny screen. Weird, huh? Anyway, it's one of those cool things that never seem to happen to us so just felt the need to share!

Presenting...

Princess Kira!

So this little princess is now almost completely potty-trained!! Now, I know I shouldn't be belting out chants of victory whilst burning all the size four diapers in the house, but I really underestimated how well Kira would do. The incentive for success in the bathroom has been "princess" related. First it was a small Belle figurine, complete with wardrobe smaller than a dime (ok, those shoes have probably already made a home inside my vacuum cleaner). Next it was the accessories you see modeled by Kira herself above. And finally, if we can master "#2" consistently then I'm sure we will be acquiring Disney Princess "big girl" underwear to adorn instead of the thick, training underwear we stocked up on in the beginning of this process. I'm very proud of Kira and I'm glad that I decided to suck it up and give into the prospect of cleaning up sopping carpets and clothing. It didn't last as long as I thought and it was actually fun to see it click with her. It's fun to watch how proud Kira is of herself, too. Just ask her, she'll tell you!

Yet again...

These are a few of the best from our photo shoot in the kitchen, complete with black sheet I got on clearance and everything. The photog only charged $300! (Actually, that's just the cost of our four-year-old camera and the timer flash!) For you, Moms!