Life as a Frazier

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T04:49:00.002-06:00

These two little LOVE BUGS have been super excited about Valentine's Day and looking forward to their friendship parties at MDO.

Emma helped stuff all the goody bags for her friends at school and even stuffed her brother's too. I can not help but think about this being her last Valentine party at MDO.

Gavin could barely stand still long enough for me to snap this picture and I am certain he will be on sugar overload today. Good thing he is so stinking cute and I love him so much, huh?

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

-1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Casa de Chaos

2012-02-12T20:06:00.004-06:00

Our house has been a wild place for the last couple weeks and it does not seem to be slowing down much. Our days have been packed with Dr. visits, fighting infections, sleepless kiddos, work, parties, MDO, church and a constant "to do list" that helps keep us organized.

Emma started out two weeks ago with a horrible ear infection that kept us up all night and found us sitting at the Dr. on a Sunday morning at 9am. The Dr. convinced us her ear tube had fallen out, so we left there with 10 days of antibiotic and had to see our surgeon. Thank goodness the ENT was able to locate the tube that is still intact with his surgical microscope, so we are currently on 10 days of ear drops with a follow up visit scheduled soon.

Gavin got sick the next week with a horrible case of Strep and a double ear infection. He was not happy with the Dr. at all when she tested him for strep, but the results came back in seconds. Thank goodness we only had 5 days of antibiotic with him because he spit out 6 doses.

No matter how busy or chaotic our life & house might get at times, we are still so very blessed and continue to add chapters to "Our Story" one day at a time.

Emma is turning into a big girl one day at a time and her vocabulary increases weekly. She likes to use words like obsessed, actually, appropriately, seriously, usually, appreciate, inappropriate and so much more. She talks alot about science, species, patterns, the weather, using your senses, journaling and reading.

She has taken a great interest in her Bitty Baby lately and carries it everywhere. She told me and her Daddy that she had a C-Section 3 days ago and Mia is a newborn that needs alot of extra care. Yesterday Curtis and I both had to take turns holding our new grand baby and being taught how to take care of her appropriately.

Emma continues to dance her heart out week after week and has recently moved from Preschool Ballet to Primary Ballet with the older girls. She is going to have to work really hard to catch up and be ready for recital in June, but her teacher is confident she can do it. They have been asking her to move up for a couple months, but this loyal little girl did not want to leave her original teacher. She finally made the decision on her own and talked to the teacher about her plan.

We are thankful for the change because this will allow Gavin to start Soccer on March 24th (yep, he is signed up and it's gonna be fun) and her to join our community swim team in April.

Emma's reading log continues to grow weekly and she is doing wonderful learning new sight words.

Mia is asleep in her bed for the night, I am sure she is exhausted since Emma took her to church with us this morning. When we picked her up from class, Mrs. Courtney told us that her husband even helped hold and take care of Mia during Bible Zone Adventure. Emma had to give her a bottle during worship, but Mrs. Courtney understood since we explained to her that Emma had just got out of the hospital from having Mia. This girls imagination runs wild daily and we just go along with it, what choice do we have?

Gavin still has the energy of an entire class filled with toddlers. I promise his pants are not high waters, it is the way he is standing, like a "super hero" of course. It has become impossible to get a picture of these kiddos together, it usually involves some sort of bribe.

Very hard to believe that in 3 weeks this little boy will be THREE years old. Seems like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital wondering how we would ever survive having a newborn and a 20 month old. We did it and I think we have done a pretty good job.

We allow our kids to choose their own birthday themes and this year Gavin opted for a pirate party, so I am tyring to get that pulled together and I am feeling so behind. I have come to the realization that no matter what, we will have a cake on March 3rd, we will sing Happy Birthday and we will celebrate Gavin's little life with family and friends.

Our boy is still loving Toy Story and could give Andy a run for his money when it comes to bringing these guys to life.

We spent this afternoon getting our goody bags ready for the MDO Valentines/Friendship party. Our bags are stuffed with sweet treats, bubbles, a bouncy ball, tied with ribbon and a personalized valentine card. Daddy joined the assembly line, so it did not take as long as it could have.

It is time to put the littlest Fraziers in bed for the evening so they can recharge their batteries and be good and ready for another week at Casa de Chaos. Between us, I kind of like crazy and I can admit that I would not know what to do with myself if we were not constantly on the go.

Tonight when I go to bed I am going to thank God for the chaos and for allowing the Frazier Four to live the "chaos" we are living. I love my life and would not trade it for anyone elses, it is a good life and a life that I sometimes take for granted!

Merry Christmas to Me!

2012-01-28T13:14:00.000-06:00

My final Christmas present arrived yesterday and I love it. We ordered this frame with a 12x12 opening from our photographer before Christmas and it finally arrived. Worth the wait for sure, along with the chalkboard in a red frame that I have very special plans for someday soon.

Organic Bloom creates a wonderful product and I am so thankful my AMAZING photographer has decided to sell their product. This also happens to be one of my most cherished family photos of the Frazier Four. I have the itch to do some redecorating, so no telling where this will end up. So grateful for a creative photographer, with wonderful ideas BUT even better than that, she is on of my favorite FRIENDS!

Happy 100th Day!

2012-01-27T06:54:00.001-06:00

Today is the 100th day of MDO for my kiddos. The PreK class celebrates and parades around the school for all the other kids to enjoy. Emma has been talking about this non stop since she found out that her class would be participating this year and she would not have to be an onlooker.

We decided to glue 100 buttons on a shirt. Emma counted the buttons out, placed them where she wanted them, told me where to put the hot glue, she stuck them on and then pressed them down with a Popsicle stick. She was super excited about doing this and insisted on doing it all by herself. I love that Emma is so independent and takes such pride in her school work.

Last night as she was taking a bath she started talking to me about Antarctica. I was amazed at the information she knew about the climate, where it is located, the life that exist there and her knowledge of Penguins. The kid told me how many different species there were, the names of them, how they survive, lay eggs, how far down they can swim, how they get their food, how they protect themselves and so much more. Her favorite part went something like this, "Mom, did you know that the Daddy Penguin has one very important job? His most important job it to supply food for the Mommy and baby at times. Are you sure you are ready for this Mom, it is really gross. The Daddy will go store up on food which is in his stomach behind his blubber and then he comes and throws it up for them to eat. He really does throw it up Mom." I must be honest and tell you that she had me puzzled about this, as well as her story about the Daddy carrying the egg around on his feet. As soon as she got out of the bath we googled it and sure enough every bit of the information she said was TRUE! We enjoyed watching some online videos we found and watching a penguin hatch out of an egg. She was so giddy about all she knew and learned about Antarctica and shared it with her Daddy as soon as he got home. It was so cute to see her so excited about the information she had retained from this weeks unit plan at school.

Happy 100th day of school Emma Lu! You are such a special little girl and we will always be thankful for the wonderful foundation that you and Gavin have been given through an amazing MDO program. I hope that your love for learning never stops growing.

Our Big Boy

2012-01-25T20:05:00.002-06:00

Our big boy decided that tonight was the night to tee-tee in the potty for the first time. We ran by Ra-Ra's tonight and she was giving him a hard time about wearing diapers. She told him that every time he went to the potty she would buy him some candy. Seriously, is that all it took?

We came home from Ra-Ra's and it was time to take a bath. Daddy took his diaper off and he darted towards the potty shouting, "I need to poo-poo." He jumped up there and I sat in the floor talking to him for a little bit. Next thing I know he was tee-teeing, so I invited Daddy & Emma in to celebrate with us. We were all so super excited and jumped up and down screaming, "yay Gavin, yay Gavin." Of course I had to make a mad dash for my camera to capture the milestone.

This has been a long time coming and every time we talked about it Gavin would tell us, "nope, I a baby Momma." Guess he decided that he better get rid of these diapers since he is turning THREE in a month. I am not a fan of naked pictures, but I could not resist this one. We are so proud of you Gavin Thomas. Keep up the good work buddy!

End of the Day

2012-01-23T06:46:00.000-06:00

The end of every day usually looks like this around our house. Everyone is fed, clean, smelling good and settling down for bed. Tonight Wall-E is the movie of choice and my kids are begging for a pet cock roach, yep you read it right. There will be no pet cock roaches in this house, period the end!

Daddy gets used as a punching bag, a pillow, a wrestling partner, a referee, a comforter and whatever else these two kiddos can dream up in their little heads.

Gavin is in desperate need of a haircut, but those eyes melt my heart every single time. He loves to rest his little head on his Daddy when it gets closer to bedtime. I have never seen a kid crazier about his Daddy than this little boy right here, he literally has nothing to do with me when Daddy is around and will not let me help him with anything. I do good to steal a kiss and a hug at bedtime as he is closing his bedroom door while Daddy is holding him. Makes me proud that he has a good Daddy that loves him, meets his every need, prays with him and tucks him into bed every night. There are days I wish it could be me, but I have seen first hand the importance of a hands on, active, affectionate Daddy and for that reason, I am okay.

This little girl on the other hand is my shadow, will not go to bed if I am away at bedtime and misses me like crazy when we are not together. She loves me on my good days and on my bad, yep I have those.

So no matter how busy life might find us in this season, we are moving right along with our heads held high, smiling, thanking Jesus, loving life and looking forward to change. At the end of every day...we are happy, we are in love and we are the Frazier Four.

Bahia Grass & Dust Mites

2012-01-16T21:18:00.003-06:00

I saw a side of my sweet girl today that I did not know existed. We were on our way to the Allergy Specialist today when she started working herself up into a tizzy! She said, "Mom, I do not want to get allergy testing, it is going to feel like a shark eating me alive." I sort of giggled because I never expected her to say that and then she said, "it's not funny, it is gonna feel like Scar is scratching my back too." Scar is Simba's uncle on Lion King according to Emma.

They got us settled into a room and it went downhill from there. The little nurse doing the testing was about 7 months pregnant and I was scared to death Emma was going to kick and hurt her. Let's just say she said some really ugly things, refused to cooperate, screamed at all of us and kicked her feet. This Momma was in shock and super embarrassed. Emma had obviously been worrying about the test, but never expressed to us that she was scared to death, instead she decided to let the entire clinic know during her test and after.

Would you ever think this sweet face could throw such a hissy? This was after an hour of fit throwing.

At one point she was so out of control that I told her I was going to video it for her Daddy to see. She told me, "you better not video me or try to pray to Jesus about it either". I ended up having to give her a couple spats on the hiney, attempting to get her to lay still and calm down. It ended up taking 3 of us to hold her down and restrain her during the test. I felt horrible, but it had to be done.

We found out today Emma is highly allergic to dust mites (don't judge, supposedly they live in every ones mattresses, pillows and stuffed animals) and Bahia grass (hay). We will be meeting with the specialist next week to get more detailed results and discuss the next step in testing and treating her condition.

As soon as I got in the car, I called Mr. Frazier and informed him that he would be chaperoning his daughter to any future testing. Bless her heart, I know she was so scared but she was OUT OF CONTROL to say the least.

55 Months

2012-01-15T19:33:00.060-06:00

Happy 55 month birthday Emma Lou! So hard to believe that you will be 5 years old in 5 more months and headed off to kindergarten when summer comes to an end.

You are still our little dancing girl tapping, jazzing and balleting your way through life. You love everything about dance and look forward to attending classes each week. You often put on your dance clothes here at home and pretend that you are at the studio.

You are over~confident in all that you do and this makes me so proud. I pray you will grow up and believe in and love yourself as much as you do today.

You have enough sassyness to share with 10 other little girls, sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it gets old fast. There is rarely a time that you are not talking, you are such a chatter box (it comes naturally sweet girl).

You are still in love with MDO, animals, coloring, reading, writing, playing school, your babies, playing outside, your cousins, dressing up, your friends, parties, Jesus, make up, jewelry, Gavin and so much more.

Our home is filled with so much JOY because of you and every single day you surprise us with something new. There is not one single thing we would change about you or your amazing little personality. Everyday I pray that God continues to bless you in all that you do and uses you in a big way. I love you with my whole heart Emma Caroline.

Miss Independent

2012-01-08T20:10:00.001-06:00

This morning before church Emma went missing for a little bit and then came back in so proud that she had completely picked her own outfit out, gotten dressed, fixed her hair and put on her shoes. She came in our bathroom where we were getting dressed and said, "Mom and Dad, look at me." Not wanting to hurt her feelings I said, "Oh Emma you look wonderful, but you can not wear that to church." Her little feelings were so hurt and I felt so bad.

She stomped out and a couple minutes later I went to find her and she was crying. It took me a while to talk her out of sandals in January (that were too small), pants that were too short and too tight and this shirt. Yikes!

It was a teachable moment for sure, but one that took me a while to explain. She did such an amazing job dressing herself and was so proud, but this was not working for me. Emma eventually changed and afterwards said, "I look so cute." Needless to say, that outfit is being sold before she gets a chance to wear it again.

Operation Kaleidoscope

2012-01-07T22:52:00.000-06:00

I was in the restroom this evening and Emma came running in screaming, "Mom, Gavin has that thing stuck on his finger." I did not know what she was talking about, so I walked towards the kitchen and Gavin is in panic mode and Curtis has him sitting up on the island with a can of Pam cooking spray out on the cabinet. Yep, Gavin's hand was stuck in a Toy Story Kaleidoscope he must have gotten from a MDO party. He had been playing in his backpack and got it out of there.

This little boy pushed this crazy kaleidoscope all the way down on his finger and it was stuck and starting to swell. The Pam that Daddy sprayed on his finger did not work, nor did the Vaseline that I tried to put on it. By this time I have him in the bathroom trying to run cold water on it to get the swelling to go down, but he is in panic mode and so am I.

After seeing it continue to swell, I knew we were going to have to restrain him and get it off with a pair of pliers. I was so afraid his finger was going to get hurt in the process and by this time I just kept saying, "do we need to take him to the ER?"

Slowly but surely Daddy snipped and snipped and 47 minutes later he was able to snip it close enough to finally break it off. We had to let Gavin take breaks, scream, cry, play and eat a candy cane during the ordeal.

At this point it was half way off but Daddy was having a hard time getting those pliers as low as he needed them to go without Gavin screaming, "don't hurt me, don't hurt me."

Daddy finally got it off after working slowly from 9:37 - 10:18. The entire time Emma kept saying, "we should have thrown that thing away." Honestly, tonight was the first time I have ever seen that thing.

The final result and the boy is finally in bed, thank goodness. I was so worried and wanted it off his finger quick and it was not a quick process. So, if you have these at your next party do me a favor and do NOT give them to my kids.

Daddy was not happy that I got my camera out in the middle of the craziness that was going on over here, but I had to get a few pictures (and dirty looks) to remember it all.

Oh this boy is all boy and he makes me a nervous wreck, which reminds me I need to post about his last adventure in Academy that had me embarrassed and in tears.

Good Night!

I love this boy!

2012-01-02T15:14:00.001-06:00

Getting ready to FINALLY post our summer vacation and I ran across this picture. I love this boy with my whole heart and thank God for his little life every single day.

I am not sure it gets any cuter than this right here, to this Mommy anyway. So much of Gavin reminds me that the legacy my Daddy left behind will live on for years to come. So proud the Frazier name will carry on and so proud that his middle name was my Daddy's first name, Thomas. You are one very special little boy Gavin Thomas Frazier and I love you more than life!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T10:40:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year from our family to yours. We are excited to welcome 2012 and look forward to another wonderful year together as a family.

We rang in the new year with sparklers and junk food. Emma loved doing them, however her little brother was scared to death and wanted no part of it.

Gavin is TERRIFIED of fireworks after our trip to Disney, he ran to the door and inside the house when we lit the sparklers. He would pull the blinds back and look out occasionally, but otherwise he was content playing his harmonica waiting for us to finish.

We are looking forward to a new year and all the great things God has in store for our family in the months ahead. Praying he will keep us healthy and promote us in all we do, while letting us be a blessing to others.

Christmas with Cousins

2011-12-30T12:14:00.000-06:00

We had FIVE different Christmas gatherings to attend this year and the best ones were the ones with our cousins.

Gavin loved the cookies at Nana's house, but I am not too sure she loved the icing in the grout after we left. Hunter thinks Gavin is WILD and Gavin worships the ground he walks on, so when Hunter laughs he does more!

Camryn, Gavin, Emma & Hunter getting ready to open their Santa bags from Nana that were filled with tons of goodies.

They all seemed to love this Toy Story spaceship and figurine set that our little man got from Nana. Look at Gavin looking at that Woody, just dreaming of bringing him to life.

This was Christmas Day at our house before they all opened a gift. Look at sweet little Chance back their by his buddy Gavin. We missed Peyton, Jackson, Kaiden, Hudson and Maddox this year.

The twins, Miss Brynlee was not going to get in with the crowd, but I got this one of her with Aunt Stacey.

Poor Hunter, these kids wrestled all over him and we finally made them stop. He is such a great big cousin and is so sweet to all the little ones. When they finished this wrestling match, they were all red faced and breathing hard.

I am so glad my kids have so many cousins and the number just keeps growing. There are currently 11 in the Carnes family, 2 sweet babies in heaven and 2 more on the way. Dana/Chris and Marla/Dwain, we can not wait till next year when their are 13 little Carnes running around everywhere. It is gonna be fun!

Cousins are those childhood playmates who grow up to be forever friends.

Christmas Eve with Papa

2011-12-29T11:54:00.000-06:00

Every year my family gets together on Christmas Eve to celebrate, however this year we got together earlier in the day and spent it with my grandfather at the assisted living facility. I am so happy we decided to do this and I think it made Papa feel very special. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home, so this is the only picture I got with my phone.

This picture makes my heart happy and I am so glad that Emma & Gavin have had the opportunity to know my Papa. He is such an incredible man with so many stories to tell, but he is getting older and is experiencing some health issues. My kids think Papa is pretty funny and he thinks the same thing about them. He gets really tickled watching Gavin run around so full of energy. Honestly, it took all I had to walk in this place on Christmas Eve, but I am so glad I did. I pray that Papa had a Merry Christmas and that us celebrating at his place blessed him this year.

I'm a Scientist!

2011-12-28T19:43:00.000-06:00

While brother bear napped today, Mommy started the process of decluttering the house and Emma Lou decided to paint with her new easel. This little girl loves to cut, glue, color, paint and create. She spends most of her time at our craft table and is often found making things for others. Christmas day she decorated popsicle sticks and glued them together in the shape of a cross for all of her cousins.

I was busy boxing things up when she came and found me and said, "Mom, come look at my painting. You are going to love it, I think I am a scientist." I must admit I was super impressed when I turned the corner and saw her creation. She was so super proud and I told her she would be a great scientist one day, later on I explained to her that artist paint also. That silly girl just chuckled and said, "oh yea Mom that too, I really took my time and concentrated on this one."

Please pray for my sweet girl as we head to the Allergy and Asthma specialist tomorrow in hopes of getting off Singular, Flovent, Pro Air, Steroids and Nasonex. I decided a couple weeks back that I have had enough of the medication, so I am hoping we can come up with some alternative plans tomorrow. I am almost certain we will be saying goodbye to dairy soon, but we are ready to do whatever it takes. This little girl is begging to play soccer again, dances a couple days a week and will be starting swim team in the Spring, so she needs a healthy set of lungs to be involved in these things. I pray daily for her to be healthy and the weather not to interfere, I know there are answers and we just need to find them. Looking forward to what the specialist has to say in the morning.

Christmas with the Fraziers

2011-12-27T19:47:00.000-06:00

It is time to de-Christmas our home and I am sitting her trying to motivate myself to get started. As much as I love to decorate for the holidays, I dread cleaning and packing all of it away until the next year. My only motivation this year is the thought of locating my daughter's James Avery ring that lasted about 5 hours on Christmas day and there has been no sighting of it since.

Our family of snowmen that I pray over every year before we put them out in hopes that no one decides they love them more than me (hee hee). The two in the front center were made to represent Emma & Gavin.

Welcome to our home that is filled with laughter, love, friends and family throughout the holiday season. Each year I blog our home at the holidays so my sweet babies will be able to look back one day and reflect on the way we celebrated Jesus' birthday (it also helps me remember where everything goes).

One of my very favorite parts of Christmas are the Christmas cards and seeing all the families change year after year. I hang all of our cards on 2 topiary Christmas trees and garland in our formal dining room. Our mantle is loaded with lots of greens and reds with cutest little polka dot stockings ever.

Christmas is scattered everywhere in our house, with little whimsical trees, ornaments, Santas, Mark Roberts Fairies and so much more.

I have had this little snowman forever and everyone that comes over ask if I will leave him to them one day, he is as jolly as they come.

Our advent calendar we use daily and reflect on all we have to be thankful for while receiving a little goody to start the day. The kiddos got candy and books on certain days along with a dollar or two here or there.

This nativity scene was given to me by my husband the year my Daddy passed away, so it holds a very special place in my heart. I can not wait to pass this down to Emma one day. My sweet MIL gave us the metal train that sits at the base of our fireplace. She gave it to us before we rode the Polar Express and had a plate engraved that reads, "The Frazier's Polar Express 2011".

Gavin's room is decorated with a sports tree and his little safari friends even got their own Santa hats to celebrate this year. There were a couple times I would hear him laughing in his room and I would go in there to find him with the giraffes hat on his little head.

Wreaths on the kiddos doors and the inside sign reads, "Dear Santa, leave presents take my Brother/Sister!" Of course it is just for cuteness, because anyone that knows them understands they would be lost without the other.

The turquoise/orange penguin tree is in E&G's bathroom and matches perfectly. Emma's room tree is pink and funky. It now has all sorts of ornaments on it from dogs, princess and ones she made at school.

Our gold/brown tree was from my pre-kid days, of course we had to add some color as the kiddos arrived. The other tree is in our foyer and is my fairy tree that I love, love and love some more!

I had a florist make me lots of bows and rework a wreath for me this year. In the middle of the day one day they text and said they made a wreath that had my name on it for my kitchen. Can we say SUCKER, it was hanging in my kitchen by dark.

These little stars hung over the windows across the back of our house and added the perfect little sparkle for the festivities.

Poinsettias could be found everywhere and I so wish they lasted all year long. I do not have a green thumb, so I was lucky they lasted through Christmas day.

More stars and Merry Christmas signs to welcome our guest and help them feel right at home during their visit.

Any decorations we opted not to use in the house, we moved outside to the playhouse and back porch.

Everyone needs a little Christmas greenery and an angel to watch over them the whole season through.

My favorite tree in the house is our family ornament tree. This tree chokes me up year after year when I unpack and look at all the ornaments along with the years of memories each represents. This year we added quite a few that we had purchased at Disney/Bahamas along with the series we collect from Hallmark year after year. Emma & Gavin get ornaments from family members every year that we will treasure forever.

Every year I struggle with packing my children's artwork away, so this year we decided to string all the Christmas projects up in our playroom from corner to corner. They loved seeing their work displayed and pointing it out to family members this Christmas.

This is on the back of our front door and can be seen by our guest as they leave. There is so much more that fills our house during the holiday season and even though it is a ton of work to display it each year, I would have it no other way for the sake of my children. I want them to celebrate life in a big way and I feel like this is just one of the little things I can do to make their holiday memories merry and bright.

Emma & Gavin, you made Christmas 2011 the best yet for us as a family. You guys were so much fun and your excitement carried us through this holiday season with no regrets. Making memories as the Frazier Four gets better and better year after year.

Santa Claus came to Town

2011-12-26T11:19:00.054-06:00

We were ready for Santa Claus to come to our house in a big way this year. The kids were so excited and made sure that all their toys were picked up and in great shape. They understand that if Santa thinks you take really great care of your stuff that he might leave you a little more.

We know that Santa and his reindeer are super busy on Christmas Eve, but also get lots of goodies everywhere they stop so we just left a little out for them.

We love Christmas and we love to give, give, give at Christmas time. Our kiddos only get for their birthdays and Christmas, so we tend to go a little overboard and have no regrets.

Santa's big gifts this year for Gavin were a scooter and a tool bench (silly man, he left the scooter in our closet) and Emma got an easel and a Leap Pad.

Both of the kids got super hero capes with their initials and names monogrammed on the back of them, super cute!

Our house is overflowing with Toy Story stuff and Santa brought more. This year he brought all the Hawaiian themed stuff and one very special Buzz for little brother.

Not a great picture, but this is when Daddy walked them out to see Santa's goodies. Emma is so wonderful and stays in bed till we give her permission to get up on Christmas morning, because we want to see their little faces light up.

Emma only had 3 things on her list, because that is how many the wisemen brought to the stable. She asked for a walkable pet shop, a Leap Pad and a real ring from James Avery. Santa delivered it all and she was one happy little girl, until the ring was lost hours later and has yet to be found.

Gavin's list consisted of candy, cookies and candy corns from Santa, so he was very happy when he got more. Of course his BIG sister created a list for him and helped him put it in the mail to Santa.

The famous ring that had everyone searching high and low to find. We are thinking it went down drain or got thrown away. We replaced it for her, but she is only allowed to wear it to church, dinner and special things now.

Gavin was thrilled with his razor Santa brought because he wants to be just like Daddy and shave in the mornings.

Emma digging through the special bag of goodies that were left behind for her to enjoy.

Gavin's very special Disney Fan Club D23 Buzz Lightyear, I think we are up to about 9 Buzz's now. I am seriously thinking of putting all their Toy Story stuff in a pile and taking a picture, it is crazy. However, I love to hear Gavin play with all of them and bring them to life just like Andy did in the movie. I promise you he could play the role if they ever needed him to reinact Andy or Bonnie's parts. He loves all of them and it is hilarious to watch him when he plays with them.

Christmas was so much fun at our house this year with a two and a half and four and a half year old. I seriously can not imagine it getting any better or more exciting. I love to watch my kids when they get new stuff and I love how appreciative they are when they open each gift, it truly makes you want to buy for them and every gift is their favorite. Christmas 2011 has been the most JOYFUL Christmas I have ever experienced thus far and I know it is only going to get better.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T01:45:00.001-06:00

Frazier Four Christmas Traditions

2011-12-24T23:51:00.001-06:00

I love traditions and I especially love HOLIDAY traditions. Each year we have traditions that we have started since we became a family and hope that our children will one day continue these when they have a family of their own.

Some of our traditions are our holiday getaway trip, Elf on the Shelf, our advent calendar, Night before Christmas book, Hallmark ornaments, Christmas pajamas, feeding the reindeer, letters to Santa and this year we added our cookie decorating party.

Last night I decided to open my Kitchen Aid mixer that has been sitting in a box in the pantry for 7 years unopened. I pulled up Paula Deen's sugar cookie recipe and before I knew it my entire kitchen was covered in flour, seriously!

Emma & Gavin enjoyed helping turn my mess into the cutest little sugar cookies you have ever seen. I am not real sure what little man was trying to do here, but he was thinking hard.

Look at my sweet boy decorating his cookies with icing, sprinkles and candy. We were very concerned he was going to throw up he ate so much sugar.

Emma was super excited to bring this little gingerbread man to life and cover every cookie with icing.

I made these for my sweet babies, they were simple but cute and I am certain they are going to be yummy. We made a special one for Santa too.

Daddy made a train for Gavin and a gingerbread girl for Emma. I am so thankful for this man and am blessed that he is such an amazing Daddy to my children.

I am so glad that we decided to add this tradition to our list this year. It was so much fun and we will definitely continue to do this for years to come.

Emma has been looking forward to sprinkling the reindeer food in the front yard all day long. Our reindeer love to eat oatmeal and glitter mixed together.

Little man was excited and ended up turning his bag upside down to empty all of his special food out.

Oh it is so much fun to enjoy Christmas through the eyes of these two. They have been so appreciative of every gift they have gotten.

Daddy started this tradition 5 years ago and I love it. Every year he goes out and hunts for the perfect Night Before Christmas Book and brings it home. Right before the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve he sits them down and reads them the story. Tonight Emma helped him and was almost able to retell the entire story. This year we put all of our books together and read them to the kids often.

Our little advent calendar is a fun way to count down the days until Santa arrives. This year Emma took all the odd days and Gavin to the even days. Every morning their was something in their little pouch and in order to get it they would have to tell me one thing they were thankful for and I would write it on paper and stick it in the pouch. Emma gave me some amazing things she was thankful for and Gavin told me he was thankful for Buzz, candy, his birthday, food and other super silly stuff.

Meet Elfy and Chippy our Elves on the Shelf, these guys make their appearance on December 1st every year and get themselves into some silly situations.

Our babies are in bed and Santa's milk, cookies and carrots for the reindeer are ready and waiting for him.

As tired as I might be at times, I am so glad we have made a commitment to continue to create traditions with our family. This little chalkboard is on our fridge and Emma wrote this message on it a while back, she is such a sweet, sweet child and is so in love with Jesus.

As time goes on the traditions do too. I encourage you to create traditions with your loved ones that will live on for generations to come.

Letters to Santa

2011-12-23T22:52:00.000-06:00

This week we made a trip to put our letters to Santa in the big red mailbox. Emma had written both of the list out before we arrived, but they insisted on rewriting them when we got there. One of Emma's favorite things to do these days is write and she has gotten really good with her letters and her handwriting.

Gavin's list consisted of candy, cookies and candy corns (sugar, sugar & more sugar. NOT!!!) Emma requested a Leap Pad, a real ring from James Avery and a walkable Pet Shop.

Little Man could hardly wait to get his letter in the box, as a matter of fact he stuck about 10 blank ones in there too.

Emma was so serious about her letter and wanted to make sure that it would get to the North Pole and Santa would know exactly who she was once it arrived.

Speaking of Santa, we saw the Jolly ole fella not to long ago for our yearly cookies with Santa visit. We use a local photographer to avoid the mall lines and because it takes Gavin a good 10 minutes to decide he will get close to him. We did not get one smile out of that boy, but at least he stood there waiting for Santa to unwrap his candy.

On the way to see Santa that evening Emma said, "Mom, now you know that is not the real Santa we are going to see don't you?" After I nearly choked & wrecked I said, "oh Emma, help me understand what you are talking about" and she said, "Mom that is just someone who dresses up like Santa to help him because he is super busy at the North Pole." I thought to myself, I am going to get those kids at MDO and then I just said, "that is so smart of you to think of that Emma." However, when she saw him she had a twinkle in her eye, a smile on her face and I was relieved.

Only TWO more sleeps to go, Santa is coming kiddos and this Mommy is super excited to see your little faces Christmas morning.

My Family, My Everything

2011-12-22T23:19:00.001-06:00

This years family pictures were quite the challenge, but when you have a photographer that is over the moon nothing stops her from gettting the results she wants and producing a Christmas card that I love year after year.

After two rainouts, Gavin having pink eye, Emma's headband being too big, me with a fever blister, Gavin with a bad haircut, it being 43 degrees outside and about 30 minutes to spare...we finally got some pictures. I seriously called and told my photographer if we hoped to get any pictures this year it would have to be at 8:00 on a Saturday morning because our schedules were packed. Normally we travel to some great location, but I told her we needed to stay in the neighborhood and pictures could take no more than 30 minutes, I think we finished in about twenty-two!

Did I mention I {heart} my photographer and somedays she {hearts} me (ha ha). She did it, designed a beautiful card/adddress label and they were mailed out and arrived before Christmas. Woo-hoo, thank you "Darwa" we love you!

My family is my everything and I love these guys with all I have and in ways that I can never describe. They are fun, they make me laugh, they love me unconditionally and they are mine.

This boy makes me giddy inside and has the best personality of any two year old I have ever laid eyes on, seriously!

Sweet girl of mine, you are everything I always dreamed of in a daughter and so much more!

Never can get enough squeezing from my little man. He loves his Momma and his Momma loves him. I am telling you this kid is a miniture version of my Daddy and that makes him extra special to me.

My little girl is growing up so fast. Seems like yesterday I was picking out her first Christmas dress and celebrating my first Christmas as her Mommy. Here we are about to celebrate our 5th Christmas together.

From head to toe, doesn't he just make you smile, a big smile? Look at those little short legs, I could just eat him up!

When I think of all that God has done in my life over the past 7 years it is UNBELIEVEABLE, but so worth the wait. I pray that he will continue to bless us and promote our family in all that we do on this side of heavean. I know he has great things in store for our marriage, our kids, our careers, our finances and for everything that involves The Frazier Four. Our God is an awesome God and he deserves all the Glory.

Darla ~ thank you once again for loving me, my kids and my family. You are more than my photographer, you are my friend and someone that I want by my side till the very end. I have learned so much from you over the years. I love you girl!

Best Christmas Pageant Ever...

2011-12-17T12:49:00.001-06:00

We had the honor of watching Emma participate in her MDO Christmas Pageant on Thursday night where the Pre K students recounted the story of the Nativity of Jesus. Our sweet girl was chosen to be a Sheep and she did it with the biggest smile on her sweet little face.

We arrived and her teachers took her sassy little headband off, swooshed back her curled hair and smushed those sheep ears on her head. So much for the time we spent in front of the mirror getting her ready. Emma was so funny when they did this, she looked up at me like are you okay with this Mommy? I just chuckled and said, "You look great Emma" but I knew what she was thinking.

These kiddos worked so hard on this little pageant and all the music that went along with it. Emma was glowing as she was standing in the church foyer waiting her turn to lead those Shepherds down the aisle.

The closer she got to me she became more giddy and I had to put my Mommy Principal face on, while snapping to encourage her to keep moving. I think she wanted to stop and hug us all, it was super cute.

Sweet Hannah Claire was Mary and she was the perfect little Mary. Emma, Gracie and Hannah Claire have all been the best of friends since they were 18 months old at MDO. It is so funny because every time I see their Mommy's these days we all tear up thinking about them going their separate ways in May.

Little Gracie was a candle that lit the way for Mary on that special day. We love this sweet girl and her Mommy, who happens to be our dental hygienist.

Emma struggled with those ears a couple times, but she kept on singing. Mrs. Becky told us after the program that Emma is quite the little singer and loves to sing loudly on stage, I am certain her Pawpaw was smiling down from Heaven that night.

This was the best picture I could get of the entire pageant, because I moved so close to the front and squatted down on the floor by another family. All of these sweet babies did a great job and once again, the teachers we are blessed with went beyond our expectations.

Emma, you were the cutest little sheep in the fields baby girl and your love for Jesus in the manger melts my heart every time you talk about him.

Pajama Day @ MDO

2011-12-16T10:05:00.000-06:00

My sweet babies jumped out of bed this morning eager to put their pajamas on and head to MDO for a day of Polar Express and fun. Mommy was excited to because at 10:30, I am officially off for 18 days (woo hoo).

This girl cracks me up anytime I go to take her picture these days. She is in dance mode at all times with that little pointed toe and those hands on her sassy little hips. As I was leaving for work she said, "Mommy, do you wish you could wear your pajamas to work today?"

My little man thought his Daddy was confused this morning when he took his one set of pajamas off and put another one on, but we finally got him to understand that it was PJ day!

Mornings at our house can often be a little chaotic with these two fighting over a pop tart, who brushes their teeth first, he's looking at me, who gets the last chocolate milk, she is pushing me BUT today was a "BEST FRIEND" kind of day. I love these two more than I ever dreamed imaginable and I think they love each other the same way. Being a Mommy is truly the most rewarding job in the world.

Happy Pajama Day Emma Lou & G-Man!

Four and a Half!

2011-12-15T21:35:00.046-06:00

Oh sweet girl of mine, you are growing up way too fast for me. This morning you told me that you still wish you were a tiny baby and secretly I do too!

As girly as you might be, you still love to search and rescue every little insect you can find. Today you made friends with a grub worm and a rolly polly (we called them doodle bugs in my day). I am thinking the grub worm is somewhere in the house because you put him down and never went back to find him. You also boldy walked up to family that was walking their full grown boxers and let the dogs lick you all over the face as if you had known them forever. I can't help but wonder if you will chase my childhood dream of being a veterinarian or if you will, "just be a Mommy" (that is your declared occupation at the time). Whatever it is, I know you will do it with a smile and be a success.

Emma Caroline, you are AMAZING. You are the sweetest little girl I know and everyday you brighten by day more and more. Tonight you told me that if I got in bed with you that you would "kiss my face 38 times". Thank you so much for loving me and making me feel like the best Mommy in the entire universe.

MDO Christmas Party

2011-12-14T17:16:00.002-06:00

The hustle & bustle of the holiday season has me feeling like a fat hamster in a wheel these days. I love all the Holidays has to offer, but our schedules are jam packed. Everyday when I get to highlight something else off my to do list, I sigh and keep on going. Please understand I am not complaining because this is MORE than the life I ever dreamed of, but no doubt I will look back on this season and wonder how we managed to juggle it all.

Between birthday parties, dance recitals, school parties, work parties, our holiday getaway, Christmas pictures, decorating the house, the Christmas pageant at MDO, the elf on the shelf, the advent calendar, hosting 3 different celebrations in our home for family, milk & cookies with Santa, looking at twinkling lights ....we are busy as can be and I would not want it any other way. I am not willing to sacrifice participating in events or traditions because I am a working Mommy, so we make it all work and it always ends up perfect.

Today was the kids MDO party and I managed to get a couple pictures between helping set up, pass out gifts and going between two classrooms.

Gavin always enjoys his school parties and was ready to go as soon as his feet hit the floor this morning. His little class is filled with sweet little two year olds that always want to eat the cupcakes first.

Emma is so appreciative when I come to her parties and acts surprised when she sees me as if I have never been at one of her functions. She truly has the sweetest teachers in the world that put so much into that Pre-K classroom, no gift would be enough to thank Mrs. Becky & Mrs. Violet.

Tomorrow we will be attending the MDO Christmas Pageant where the Pre-K students tell, sing and demonstrate the Story of Jesus. Emma is so excited to be a sheep, while Kade is her Shepherd. They have been practicing so hard and had full dress rehearsal yesterday. Emma was ecstatic that her best buddy Hannah gets to be Mary and continues to tell me how beautiful she looks. I am certain I will be crying like a baby when I see these sweet babies proclaim their love for Jesus.

So while I may be a little STRESSED, I will NEVER lose sight of the fact that I am truly BLESSED!

33 Months Old

2011-12-04T16:20:00.029-06:00

Our BIG BOY turned 33 months old yesterday and has made us realize we no longer have a baby living in our house. If this kid could live outside or on a farm, his bags would be packed.

We are dreaming of the day Gavin turns THREE so we can channel all of this energy into an organized sport. He is extremely energetic and will be a coaches dream, I promise you that. Some of his favorite things to do these days are pretend to be a dinosaur, play school with his big sister, watch Caillou, play with Littlest Pet Shops, snuggle with Daddy, wrestle, color and look at Christmas lights.

Gavin has really been into all things Christmas this year and loves the lights, the trees, Christmas music and ornaments (good thing because his Mommy does too!). I can not wait to see him on Christmas morning, its gonna be a good time.

Happy Monthly Birthday Buddy ~ We love you!

Itty Bitty Christmas

2011-12-03T16:28:00.003-06:00

This morning our dance studio held their Itty Bitty Christmas program for the kiddos that are in the 6 and under classes with some of the older dancers presenting parts of the Nutcracker. It is nothing formal, just a sweet and simple little Holiday celebration.

Emma performed in a Jazz routine to "Tis the Season" and they were asked to wear any combination of red and white. Emma has fallen in love with her Jazz class and was super excited to perform a pom routine with 13 of her jazz-buddies this morning.

Lauren and Emma have been dancing together for 2 years now and they really enjoy each others friendship.

I could not resist getting a couple of pictures of this sweet face up close this morning while we were waiting for our number.

Emma loves to perform and never appears to be nervous, always excited. However, this morning when it was showtime and she walked out waiting to go on stage she started bawling LOUDLY where everyone in the crowd could hear, all 300+ of them. She was squinting and covering her face with her hands, when one of the teachers walked over to her to ask what was wrong. Loud enough for everyone to hear she loudly says crying hysterically, "the sun is in my eyes and I can not take it, I can not take it." Yes, the sun was bright and yes it was in her eyes, but really Emma? By this time I was sitting dead front and center and I was dying of embarrassment while the crowd was laughing. One of the teachers took her glasses off and gave them to Emma to calm her down. From that point on, she thought she was super Hollywood COOLNESS and I was hiding. They were trying to get everyone in place to start the music and I leaned over and asked her teacher, "please take those glasses away from her when you go up there." Mrs. Christy took the glasses and everything was fine from that point on.

I was so proud of her that I did not take very many pictures because I was so caught up in watching her. This song was super fast, but she was able to keep up and remember most of the parts, even ended perfectly in the exact spot she was assigned.

After her Jazz performance we ran home because she did not dance again for a couple of hours. Instead of flowers this year, we decided to buy her another ballet ornament to add to her collection.

A very PROUD Daddy & Mommy in spite of the meltdown over Mr. Sun. Emma loved her ornament and thanked me over and over again. Thank goodness she learned a lesson on gratefulness since the last recital when I made her sell her gift she got because she was not very nice about it, remember?

Emma's Ballet class performed to "Happy Birthday Jesus" and it gets me every time I see her dance so gracefully to this song. They were asked to wear a Christmas dress for this dance with their Ballet slippers. I loved that we could use things we already had and it was not a huge expense to participate, but gave the kiddos a chance to perform. If you are a dance Mommy, you know how expensive recitals can be.

I sent the picture above this one out today to family and friends in a text and I got the following back from a dear friend that has been dancing for 35+ years, danced in college, has owned a studio, directed High School drill team and is currently a Principal at a Performing Arts School.

"Precious!!! Laura, she seriously has the prettiest form...her arms are perfectly placed and her little pointed toe makes me giddy."

Lianna, you made this Mommy smile and it meant so much coming from you. Thank you sweet friend and I pray daily that God will bless you with a little girl one day soon.

So many things about today make me so proud of Emma. I love how committed she is to dance, I love that she is a great student, I love her ability to make new friends immediately, I love the way she admires her teachers, I love that she has fun no matter what she is doing, I love that she is so confident and I love that she sticks her little tongue out constantly when she dances.

I am not kidding, 70% of the time she dances that little tongue is hanging out like a panting puppy. Anytime she looks over at me she will pull it back in and smile. Her teachers think it is the cutest thing ever and are so sweet and loving to Emma.

We are so blessed to dance with such a great group of girls, have such talented teachers, be surrounded by great families and most of all dance in a place that puts God first in everything they do.

ICE ~ Shrek the Halls

2011-12-02T15:31:00.002-06:00

The last of our little Holiday getaway. This was by far the coldest part of our trip and the most amazing part also, at a whopping 7 degrees. The ICE exhibit is hand carved by 40 Artist that are flown in from China. They carve over 2 million pounds of ice to create the exhibit and it is unbelievable. Ice manufacturers spend 3 months freezing the blocks of ice required for them to produce this exhibit. It is honestly something you have to see to believe.

Our little man all bundled up and entering the front door, looking up in amazement at Shrek.

Emma was at the perfect age this year and really took her time looking at all the characters. At one point she picked up the top of a gingerbread carved of ice, of course you are never suppose to touch the ice.

I did not have the right lens on my camera when we went in so Daddy had a hard time getting us and the sign in the picture, but I was happy to have one of me and my sweet babies.

Fiona and the babies. Emma was so worried about where the babies were the entire time we were at the resort. A couple times she actually opened the door of Shrek's house looking in for the babies.

The detail of ICE this year was amazing. We have loved it every year we have gone, but the detail this year was very different than years past. I could have stayed in here for a couple hours in awe of the work that went into this and how talented those 40 men must be.

Sweet boy, look at those eyelashes. We had a hard time getting Gavin to keep his hat and gloves on while inside, even thought it was FREEZING.

We love Shrek and we love him even more after seeing him brought to life in ICE. My kids have watched Shrek the Halls about 20+ times so far this holiday season.

This is Shrek's outhouse and potty, Emma thought it was hilarious and crawled up in there so I could take her picture.

Puss and Boots could be spotted occasionally throughout the exhibit too.

Look at sweet little Gingy. She was pullilng a wagon full of gingerbread house pieces that she was trying to get help putting together. Yep, that is were Emma got the top of the house out of till one of the workers quickly reminded her not to touch the ice.

This bench was in the area where the ice slides were and it was cute as could be. Neither one of the kids were interested in sliding down because they were frozen by this time. Even with all the gear on, it is SUPER cold inside.

Daddy with his two little buddies, Shrek & Donkey.

Sweet Emma Lou with Fiona and her babies, everytime she spotted those babies she was thrilled.

I took this one of Shrek up close so we could remember the great detail that went into bringing him to life for Shrek the Halls.

About 85% into the exhibit Gavin decided he had enough, stopped in the middle of the floor and ripped his hat, gloves and coat off and threw it on the floor. It was a little difficult for him to get around with this heavy coat on, so I guess he thought it would be easier without it.

And the last stop every year before we exit is the Merry Christmas wreath. I am so thankful that we have made it a tradition every year to get away before the hustle and bustle of the Holidays begins.

Elfy & Chippy

2011-12-01T22:03:00.000-06:00

The two sweetest Elfs have flown into our home and my kiddos are so excited for the traditions to start again. This is Elfy's 5th Christmas with us and Chippy is celebrating his 3rd year as a Frazier.

The kids are really into it this year along with keeping the magic alive by not touching them. We actually bought them the short movie that came out about a week ago, so they have learned alot more about what these little guys do after they go night night.

That flight back to Santa last night to check in must have been a long one because they were super thirsty throughout the night. When we woke up this morning Emma and Gavin came running, screaming and laughing at where they found them since they started out on the mantle.

No telling what these two might get into this holiday season as they join the Frazier Four celebrations.

Polar Express

2011-11-30T20:46:00.000-06:00

Our Holiday getaway would not have been complete without a ride to the North Pole with Santa Claus. We were not expecting or prepared for it to be 38 degrees there, so we ended up keeping our clothes on opposed to wearing our PJ's. We also had big plans to go to a town nearby for a ride in a horse drawn carriage, but the cold sent us back to the hotel early. Looks like we will have to take a carriage ride in our hometown before Christmas.

Daddy helped both our sweet babies on board while Mommy stayed behind to snap a few pictures.

Emma chose to ride beside Daddy and I snuggled up with my favorite little boy as the locomotive took off to a winter wonderland.

...and what to our wondering eyes should appear? Jolly Ole St. Nicholas and my kids were in awe of him.

Santa gave all the children on the train a bell they could wear around their necks and he had 2 very special Polar Express bells in his basket for the Frazier kiddos.

At one point Emma entertained us all by singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I was in shock when she sang into the microphone for the entire rail car to hear and enjoy.

Our conductor was full of life and such a happy guy. He was dancing all around and singing right along with the rest of us.

One last picture before we exited the depot for our walk back to the car, the wind was blowing and it was freezing. Emma and Gavin were so proud of their bells and have been toting them around since they got them.

Gingerbread Love

2011-11-29T22:05:00.001-06:00

One of our favorite things to do every year is bring our Gingerbread house to life with the help of the littlest Fraziers. This year we got to do it at Gingy's house and it was a good time shared by all.

Gingy has the sweetest little house I have ever seen. Gavin would not go inside, but he sure enjoyed standing on the outside licking the candy hanging on the walls, seriously!

If you have seen Shrek the Halls, you know that at one point Gingy almost gets eaten by Santa Claus. I will tell you that Gavin knows when this part is about to happen and he starts covering his eyes saying, "I don't like it Mommy, turn it off." There was no way we were going to talk him into a picture with Gingy and matter of fact, that cookie was not coming near him. Emma loved her and got lots of hugs from her.

This year we decided to bring along some of our own candy to help cover the house and I love the way the Peep trees turned out. Gavin's motto was, one for the house and one for me (ha ha). We could not get the boy to stop eating the candy and I was shocked that he did not puke before we finished.

This little house was a team effort and so much fun to do. Emma did a great job squeezing out the icing all by herself and placing the candy exactly where she wanted it.

By the time we finished these kiddos had icing from head to toe and were sticky as could be from sampling all the goodies.

Have I told you lately how crazy in love I am with my family? These guys keep me going day after day and love me unconditionally.

My sweet girl was so proud of this Gingerbread house and even more excited to bring it home to show off to our Holiday guest this year.

I seriously did not know if my candy loving little man's sweater would ever come clean. Anything that could be licked, tasted or eaten, he did it. I saw and heard pieces hit the floor and it just did not matter he was gonna eat as much as we would allow.

Out of all of the things in our house at Christmas every year, this is always a favorite. I brought it home and put it on my red ribbon laced cake pedestal on the island for all to enjoy. Our tradition of making a Gingerbread house is one that I know will last for years to come. I envision us sitting around the table when our kids are in High School continuing this tradition and it makes me smile.

Speaking of smiling, I have so many reasons to smile these days and hope I can help others smile this Holiday Season.

Shrek Feast & More

2011-11-28T21:17:00.001-06:00

Hard to believe that we were able to go Snow Tubing where we live in November, but sure enough we did and it was fun.

It was alot of work to drag a double tube up those stairs while encouraging a 4 year old to keep walking. We do not have many pictures of this because every time Daddy looked through the lens, a certain little boy would take off running.

If you look really close you can see me and Emma tubing down in the 3rd lane. The slopes were small, but certainly give us something to look forward to when we visit the Carnes cousins in Steamboat some day soon.

We enjoyed a Shrek Feast one morning for breakfast and this green chocolate fountain was only part of what was laid before us to enjoy.

Emma loved dining with Shrek and could hardly wait to become a little ogre herself, but first she had to solve a riddle in order to get her ears.

Princess Fiona was a huge hit and we brought our own little Fiona home with us. It was so funny because with Emma's red hair braided, she really favored her and people commented on it all day.

Puss and Boots giving our sweet girl the purr-fect hug. Please do not think we forgot about Gavin on this trip, however he stayed far away from these characters and waved from a distance. One look at Shrek and he was D.O.N.E! Can you blame him? The guy is big, green, giant teeth and his hands are huge.

Yep, we brought our own little Ogres home with us for the holiday season and they have not stopped playing with their ears since they got them.

My sweet babies showing off their Polar Express Bells Santa gave them on the train ride. They had been watching the movie, so they were so excited that they got a bell that was identical to the one that fell of the reindeer's neck.

The two cutest little elfs I know sure do make the Holidays so much fun for us. Amazing to me how Christmas takes on an entirely new meaning when you have children to share it with you. I am so glad I get to enjoy this Holiday season through the eyes of a two and four year old this year.

Holiday Getaway 2011

2011-11-27T20:26:00.002-06:00

We have just returned from our annual Holiday getaway where we went snow tubing, rode the Polar Express, dined with Shrek & Fiona, built a Gingerbread house, walked through a 7 degree exhibit, met lots of characters, snuggled up in a hotel room, did a little shopping and lots more.

Every year when the Thanksgiving Feast is over, The Frazier Four take off to the Christmas Capital of Texas to enjoy all the festivities.

This little getaway gives us a chance to refocus on our family, the upcoming holidays and how truly blessed we are in this life.

These two sweet babies could not ask for a better Daddy and I can not wait till they are able to appreciate how truly blessed they are to have this man in their life.

Looks like they decided to be nice when they climbed up in Santa's big comfy chair while he was off feeding the reindeer. Figured they would stay off the naughty list if they gave each other a big ole hug while the Jolly Ole Fella was away.

We had a 9th floor atrium view and if this does not get someone in the mood for Christmas, I do not think anything can do the trick. We went to sleep and woke up to lights galore.

At one point I walked out on the balcony and my children were throwing change down at the people passing by, I was in shock. I asked Emma what they were doing and she said, "throwing money like in the fountains." They were so innocent and had no clue that they could hurt someone or get into trouble.

It was all we could do to keep our kids out of the pond in the atrium. Gavin would take off running to it every time we were close by, lay on his belly and talk to the fish.

I fell in love with this 12 foot rotating snowman that was down near one of the rivers that flowed through the resort. I would have stayed and volunteered all month if they promised I could bring this cute little guy home with me for the front yard.

All in all, we had a great Thanksgiving and have so much to be thankful for all year long. We enjoyed our "holiday-cation" and have so much more to share from our trip.

We are good!

2011-11-15T21:41:00.001-06:00

I started getting text a couple days ago asking if we were okay, so I knew I needed to take the time to blog and let everyone know that we are wonderful, just super busy and yes this Mommy is very behind on blogging. My goal is to get caught up over Thanksgiving Holidays by posting Emma's 4th birthday party, our trip to Disney/Bahamas, the kids monthly post and so much more.

So much has changed in the past year and my children seem to be growing bigger and wiser every day. Makes my heart a little sad to look back on pictures and realize that Emma has become such a big girl, while Gavin is quickly losing all his baby features. I just wish I could slow down time and add a couple extra hours to everyday that would allow me time to just sit and do NOTHING. That never happens in our house, I am not sure I could ever just sit and do nothing but the thought of it sure sounds good.

I feel so unorganized as we enter this Holiday season, but I know that I will pull it all together one way or another. I am looking forward to having 9 days off over Thanksgiving and spending all 9 of them with my kiddos, enjoying life.

Praying for so many this time of year and trying to teach my children valuable lessons along the way that will last them a lifetime.

53 Months

2011-11-15T18:14:00.002-06:00

Happy 53 months of life sweet girl, you are growing up so fast right before my eyes and it is so hard for me to believe that you will soon be 5 years old.

I love you more than you will ever know Emma Caroline!

My PINK boy

2011-11-04T14:12:00.000-05:00

My boy loves pink candy, pink donuts and his BIG sisters pink sunglasses turned upside down.

Gavin is just like me in the mornings. He jumps out of bed happy as can be, in a great mood and ready to chatter it up. He was so funny this morning when he woke up and started requesting strawberries immediately. When he found out we were fresh out, he ask me to go to the store and buy him some. Man, I love this boy, PINK upside down sunglasses and all.

32 months of Wildness

2011-11-03T18:17:00.061-05:00

This little smile speaks for itself, doesn't it? Words can not begin to describe how much energy is jam packed inside this little body that RUNS everywhere he goes and NEVER slows down from sun up till sun down.

If you think I am kidding, come on over and you will be worn out before he even gets started. As I type this he sits next to me licking ice cream off the table pretending to be a puppy. Or perhaps you can contact his MDO teacher who sent the following write up home recently. I must admit that I laughed hysterically when I saw this and I continue to laugh every time I see it. Not sure if I laugh because he reminds me so much of myself or if I am laughing because I wonder, what's next?

The truth is, this boy makes me BELLY LAUGH all the time. I seriously have to hide my face in my shirt and turn my back daily because I never want him to know I am laughing at some of the things he does. In spite of the fact that I am exhausted at the end of every single day, I would not trade one single thing about him. I ask Curtis weekly, "can you really imagine Gavin being any other way then the way he is, seriously? He would not be Gavin if he were any different." He often looks at me like I am crazy and replies, "No, I really can't".

You are currently wearing a size 2T/3T in clothes, size 6 in diapers, size 8/9 in shoes, weigh 36 lbs and are 38 inches tall. You are built exactly like my Daddy and act just like him too. You are still a wonderful sleeper, but are lacking in the nutrition department. You would live off of slice bread, pizza, cheese and yogurt if we would let you.

Happy 32 month old Birthday Gavin Thomas. We love you so much and appreciate the rowdy-ness you bring to our home. You have taught us to love harder, laugh more often and that we are not always in control, for that I am thankful. Your smile and your zest for life give me a new reason to smile every single day! Thank you for being the Son I have always wanted, I will always love you!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T21:28:00.001-05:00

Halloween has come and gone, the little pirates are in bed, this Mommy is ready to put the orange away and break out the red and green. Trick or Treating was very successful tonight and our kiddos had a good time running from door to door in their pirate gear.

Bribed this little guy with some candy and he decided to "walk the plank" in his boots and hat tonight. Gavin looked adoreable in his costume.

His sassy big sister was thrilled to wear all her stuff and carry her sword adorned with pink bling hearts. Emma was a trick or treating pro this year.

Best picture I could get of Captain Jack Sparrow, isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen?

These two made their way to the door of about 20 of our neighbors.

Mommy had to get a picture with the two cutest pirates she has ever seen in all her days. I could not get them to put their buckets down or look at the camera because they had their eyes on the next house.

We went by Lizzie's house and her big brother was passing out candy. Perfect time for us to get a picture of these two silly girls.

Lizzie and her brother joined us as we went over to the next street where their granparents happen to live. Emma pulled Lizze in the wagon on the way over there and Strawberry Shortcake enjoyed the ride.

Finally, I was able to get a picture of both the little pirates together in the front yard before they loaded up in the wagon for the night.

This picture makes me smile when I see all these little dreds hanging off my little man's head. You are looking at one tuckered out little boy that was ready to go back home. Gavin was such a little trooper tonight and only got scared of a couple of the costumes we passed on the street.

Halloween has come to an end, our house is full of candy and Christmas is a coming!

Super {little} Man

2011-10-30T21:14:00.000-05:00

Every Mommy needs there own Superman and I just happen to be very fond of the littlest superhero living in my house.

I must admit that I was one of those Mom's that despised "cartoon" clothing and velcro shoes, swore to never own a piece of it. These days we have Toy Story, Batman, Superman and Curious George stuff hanging in the closet and I think it looks so cute on Gavin. I especially love the ones that have the capes attached to the back of it.

There are so many things I love about our very own little superman. Look at those little hands, feet and that big S upon his chest. I could eat him up he is so sweet these days and yep, those nails need to be cut.

He was deeply engrossed in Zooboomafoo this morning before church when I attempted to take these pictures. Look at that, even SUPERMAN picks his nose every now and again. I will be forever thankful that God blessed me with this little boy that changed my views on so many things in life.

Emma & Lizzie

2011-10-29T22:19:00.002-05:00

We played football this evening and just so happened that Emma's little friend Lizzie and her family were at the game. Emma was super excited when she found out she was there, matter of fact we were in the suite when we found out and the next thing I know Emma is in line tyring to wrap food up and take it out into the stands for her friends. Silly girl, I quickly reminded her to put it down as school board members and others were staring at her trying to smuggle cookies, cupcakes and candy out of the "All Access Pass" area. Yikes!

She settled on taking a couple mints to her buddy and left the rest behind. Lizzie lives right around the corner, but we don't get to see her often. She is pretty shy, but slowly coming out of her shell. I was so excited when she decided to come along with me and Emma tonight to visit some other friends at the game.

These two kept wanting their own set of pom poms, so we decided to take a walk down to the field. On the way there we saw Spike, so of course we had to stop for a picture.

When we were walking around Lizzie agreed to come over to our house and play sometime soon. Emma jumped at that thought and said, "Oh Lizze and you can spend the night with me too." Poor Lizzie, Emma is an all or nothing kind of girl, so I am sure she made you a nervous wreck tonight.

When we got down to the field Emma decided to tell Lizzie that they were going to go out on the field and perform at half time. Wrong answer Emma, Lizzie's little lip started quivering and she wanted her Mommy ASAP. I begged her not to cry and she didn't, so I immediately started texting her Mommy. Her Mommy came down to the rail to get her and Lizzie was like, peace out! Emma scared the heebie jeebies out of her when she started talking about performing on the field.

It was fun to see Lizzie Lou and so many others at the game tonight. Our football team is on fire and playoff bound for sure, so glad that so many people came out to support the Bulldogs tonight. Emma sure was glad to have a friend to walk hand in hand with and even more thrilled that the Bulldogs had a V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!

Fall Festival 2011 @ MDO

2011-10-28T21:53:00.000-05:00

Arrr....Look at me little pirates Matey! One of my little pirates refused to wear his boots and hat, this Mommy has learned there are some battles just not worth fighting early in the morning. I was just happy I got a smile out of them before they headed out for the Fall Festival.

Gavin was real honest with his feelings this morning when we were getting him dressed in his costume. "I do not like the boots and I do not like the hat Mommy."

Sweet Kain {our wonderful Nanny's little boy} and Gavin at the duck pond. Kain was Captain Hook and he looked so cute.

Gavin with the MDO director, Mrs. Elaine that is his big buddy. Gavin gets sent to the office sometimes and is suppose to sit in the red chair, however he always wiggles his way up in Mrs. Elaine's lap and she loves it.

Back in the class for party time and lots of Halloween goodies and sweets. Gavin was so proud I was there and just kept saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" over and over again without needing anything.

Emma got her face painted by Jewels, the Clown at the carnival. It was sort of like the Cinderella costume at Disney, she never wanted to take it off.

Sweet Mrs. Becky, Emma's PreK teacher that has been teaching at MDO for 26 years. We are so blessed that Emma has her and is getting such a great foundation that will benefit her immensely for years to come.

It made me so sad to take this picture of these sweet girls. Gracie, Hannah and Emma have been Best Friends at MDO since they were 15 months old. These three girls have been inseparable since they started out in the toddler room and are crazy about each other. Come May they will all go their separate ways for Kindergarten and as I stood around with their Mommy's today and talked about it, we were all very choked up.

Aubrey is another one of Emma's sweet friends that she has attended school with since the toddler room. Aubrey's Mom was Emma's two year old teacher and currently has Gavin in her class.

Emma with her friend Kade, that she is really giddy about. Kade is Emma's table partner and she enjoys hanging out with him at school.

My kids favorite part of party day is getting to drink real juice. We drink roaring water at our house, so they jump at any opportunity to drink real juice boxes.

Performing for the parents in the children's choir room. Emma's class sang 5 fall songs and they were so cute and sweet. It is crazy to watch all these kids perform and think about how little they all were when we started MDO. Emma was quite the performer and entertainer.

Picture of the entire class when the party started. This room is amazing and Mrs. Becky and Mrs. Violet work miracles with the 14 itty bitty's in their class. It was so much fun to enjoy the Fall Festival with Emma & Gavin this Halloween.

Arrrrrr Jazz Matey...

2011-10-24T20:07:00.000-05:00

Tonight was costume night for Emma's Jazz class, so she decided to walk the plank and put on the best pirate gear she could find. Matter of fact this little pirates loot was purchased at Disney this summer and traveled all the way down to the Bahamas with us before it made its way back to the ship.

Might be one of the cutest little pirates on the ship, I tell ya. Look at those sweet cheeks and that grin, gets me every single time.

She could not win a battle for nothing, because she is too busy putting her sword down to pose for the camera with her sassy little self.

Meet Emma's sweet friend Lauren that we help get to dance if her Super Hero Mommy is away on business. So thankful her parents trust us, Emma really enjoys their playtime together and her friendship.

Every girl needs a friend that is a super hero and every super hero needs a friend with a sword, right matey? These two are the perfect little pair and as prissy as they come. I love to watch them hold hands, giggle and laugh in the backseat of my car on the way to class. Lauren was so excited this afternoon because Emma gave her two pennies. I love the excitement and innocence of their friendship and this stage in life. I wish it could last forever.

Look at all these little cuties in Emma's Jazz class. Emma is the youngest of the group while the rest of them are in Kindergarten or First Grade. They are all so super sweet and a couple of them are very talented when their little feet hit the dance floor.

We are blessed with an amazing studio, great dance friends and good instructors. Mrs. Christy is Emma's Jazz teacher and also owns the studio, believe it or not she keeps all 16 of these little cuties moving for the entire 45 minutes of non stop jazz. At the end of every class Emma always has a hug and and thank you for Mrs. Christy and I think it makes her day, week after week.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

We decided to make our annual visit to the Pumpkin Patch today since we could not attend Victoria's 3rd Birthday or go to the hospital to meet Baby Maddox, because strep throat has been lurking around our house this week. We did not think anyone would appreciate us contaminating their families, so we opted to spend the weekend alone.

Oh how I love fall and all the smells and colors it brings along with it. My house smells of Marshmallow Pumpkin Scentsy right now and everywhere you turn there is some sort of fall decoration.

Gavin has been asking us daily, "Mommy, you take me to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin like Caillou?" Yep, both of my kiddos are pretty much obsessed with the bald headed, whiny little four year old that is not always very nice to his sister Rosie.

Emma was super excited to search for the perfect pumpkin to carve this year and she did a great job finding a good one with a big round face, just waiting to be brought to life for all our little Trick or Treaters.

Little Man turned every single pumpkin he could manage to pick up into a ball and threw it. We had to remind him constantly to put them down.

Emma found the cutest little pumpkins to bring home to paint and she has already painted two of them.

Gavin decided that he better grab a couple too and he kept saying, "Mommy, look at my widdle punkin."

Look at my wagon pulling boy with that super serious face. Perhaps he was nervous about getting caught stealing someones wagon full of pumpkins.

Leave it to one of my kids to be super fascinated with the flies that were zooming around the pumpkin patch.

We started going to this pumpkin patch when Emma was 4 months old, hard for me to believe she is now 4 years and 4 months old.

No matter what I promised Gavin today, he was not turning loose of too many smiles.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch today and as we were leaving the restaurant an older lady approached our table and said, "I just want to tell you and your husband that y'all have the most beautiful and well behaved children and we appreciate that. It is not too often you see parents making their kids do the right things these days and y'all have done a great job." Before she could finish talking Gavin was wrapped around her legs hugging her and Emma was trying to squeeze a hug in too. I was just anxious to get out of there before Gavin decided to send a shrimp or piece of bread flying across the restaurant.

He finally decided to give me a smile and enjoyed sitting in the wagon atop all the pumpkins.

Here is the GREAT PUMPKIN that Emma picked out of the patch for The Frazier Four to carve this Halloween. Daddy is a pretty good pumpkin carver, so I can not wait to see what this little guy ends up looking like.

This is the best shot I could get of these two little rascals together, makes me think that Christmas pictures are going to be very interesting this year. Successful trip to the patch today and a good time spent with my very own little pumpkins!

4 Years & 4 Months

2011-10-15T10:56:00.074-05:00

Oh sweet Emma Lou, you are growing up so fast right before our eyes. It is a true joy to experience life with you every single day.

You are so independent these days and want little help with anything you do. Pre~K has captured your heart and mind this year and you love every single thing about learning. You currently are writing, reading and retaining and your ability to memorize is pretty amazing for a four year old. Everyday you come home so excited about what you have learned and can not wait to share the entire days lesson with us step by step.

It has become very important recently for you to have the last word and you have really started talking back. We have had to pray and have lots of talks about how Jesus wants you to treat others and your parents. You are still so super sweet and it is hard to correct you at times, but each time we explain to you that it is our job as your parents to help you become the best you can be. I am confident you only do this at home because Mrs. Becky always tells us you are the perfect child at school.

You are as prissy as they come and you constantly walk around dancing or with your Hello Kitty purse filled with lip gloss on your shoulder. It is safe to say that you are extremely confident and love yourself. I am so proud that you possess this characteristic, because I encounter so many people on a daily basis that just do not believe in themselves.

You are so sensitive to others and love Jesus with all of your heart. Last week you asked me, "Mom, why can't we see Jesus and the Angels", I started explaining and you quickly interrupted me and said, "No Mom, No. We can not see them because they are nocturnal." I sure was impressed with your analogy and smiled the rest of the day at your ability to transfer that knowledge to Jesus.

Emma, we love you so much and are so proud of you! You bring so much happiness to our home and I am so honored to be your Mom. Keep learning, smiling, laughing, praying and loving Jesus.

My Lil' Football Date

2011-10-07T16:50:00.001-05:00

Last night I had a date with my little man and we headed out for our Thursday night Varsity game. Emma stayed home with Daddy and they went on a bike ride, tested out the new booster seat, played Hi Ho Cherry-O and Candy Land.

Gavin and I went up to the suite, took full advantage of our all access pass and enjoyed a nice dinner together. He was so excited to see the boys on the field warming up and even more excited that he had ALL his Mommy's attention.

Gavin is a charmer and really knows how to work a crowd. His Daddy started teaching him to shake hands when he was about 18 months old and lets just say he is really good at it when he is in a social setting. He made his rounds and shook the hand of every man in the suite last night and every policeman we passed. I must admit, it is super cute to see him do it and people are shocked that he does it so well.

He was a trooper and made it to the end of the 3rd quarter before we called it a night. I see many more "football date nights" in the future with the sweetest little boy I know.

Britax Broke!

2011-10-06T17:02:00.002-05:00

This little girl has been driving us batty begging to go into a booster seat. We have finally made the investment and guess what arrived today?

This girl has talked nonstop about these boosters since she knew we ordered them. From the time her feet hit the floor until she goes to bed she is inquiring about when they are scheduled to arrive. She has told everyone she has come in contact with that we have ordered them and she is about to get out of her car seat. Curtis and I just look at each other and laugh when she brings it up because you would think she was getting a new doll or something as excited as she has been. She has literally been obsessed with this topic.

She knew today was the big day and she paced the floor all day waiting for the UPS truck to arrive with her new seats. He probably wondered if we adopted triplets when he was stacking them up on the porch.

We should have stock in Britax because we now officially own NINE of them (6 Marathons and 3 Parkways). One for Daddy's car, Mommy's car and of course our Nanny has to have one too. Needless to say we have spent a fortune to make sure our kiddos are protected and safe when they are in a vehicle.

You are looking at one very silly girl who is waiting for her Daddy to get home, so he can install her new seats in our cars. No way would she even think about riding in that car seat for one more day to MDO this week (ha ha). In the meantime Mommy is going to be washing those other car seats up and helping them find new homes, because we have decided that we will remain The Frazier Four!

National Night Out

2011-10-04T20:45:00.001-05:00

Tonight we celebrated NNO with popcorn, snow cones, face painting, train rides, jump houses, obstacle course, sand crafts, horses, Ferris wheel, firetrucks, an ambulance and all our neighbors. Our neighborhood always has a huge party at one of our club houses and there is lots of stuff for the kiddos to do.

This sassy little girl was ready for some fun and was begging to get her face painted before we even got there.

My sweet boy was just happy to have a bubble gum snow cone and some popcorn.

The kids loved the jump houses, especially the one that had the obstacle course inside of it. I was shocked that Gavin was able to climb up the hill in it, flip down the other side and keep up with his big sister.

Enjoying the train ride and waiting to shout, all aboard!

Of course Emma had to touch and talk to the biggest horse I have ever seen in my entire life. This guy weighed 1800 lbs and was as sweet as could be. He was actually donated to the mounted patrol in our area by a family who decided he was to massive for them to ride for pleasure.

Emma and Gavin got to ride this little Ferris wheel and after about the 5th time around Gavin had enough and was ready to get off.

A party would not be complete without a little sand craft, Emma made a pink heart necklace and Gavin made an orange dolphin.

I was so PROUD because our Key Club students from school volunteered and helped work all the booths while keeping things organized. It was a fun night mingling with so many families that live in our neighborhood.

31 Months with G-Man!

2011-10-03T11:42:00.071-05:00

I prayed for a little boy, my prayers were answered and I love him beyond explanation. This kid is full of life and never slows down, not even for a second during the day. We still require him to take naps, but he could make it a whole day without one if we would let him.

Gavin RUNS everywhere he goes and can get away from us in a second if we are not careful. He has a deep love for all sports and enjoys being active at all times. He begs Mommy to take him to the Bulldog school because he loves to watch Volleyball, Football, Swimming, Basketball, Soccer and any other sport available. Big trucks and tractors stop him dead in his tracks and he wants us to chase them down the freeway.

He is very aggressive and has to constantly be reminded that it is not okay to wrestle and put his hands on other people. Bless his heart, he has to move his color about 3 days a week at school for doing little things such as throwing mulch, wrestling with his friends, talking during story time and hitting. There have been a few weeks he makes it all the way to Friday and slips up and does some little "boy" behavior that cost him his ice cream for the week. We will continue to work on him and pray that he learns to control his behavior, he is a work in progress for sure (aren't we all)?

This smile lights up my life no matter what is going on around me and reminds me daily that life is about having fun, not always sticking with the plan. Talk about crazy, this boy is crazy about his Daddy and I am not sure that will ever change. He waits for him to get home in the evenings and just can not get enough of him or give him enough "big hugs" or kisses. Daddy likes it too and Mommy is just a little bit jealous (not really, I would not want it any other way).

You are still a lover of all things Toy Story and make sound effects that could earn you a spot in Toy Story 4 if they decide to make one. It is hilarious to watch you act out the scenes and see how much you love Woody, Buzz, Jesse and all their other friends. I love to hear you sing, "You gotta friend in me" while flying Buzz around the house shouting, "I Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and beyond". No doubt you and Andy would have been the best of friends. Your Daddy is going to regret buying you all this Toy Story stuff one day, it is something I will NEVER be able to part with because it is so YOU!

Gavin Thomas, you are a very special little boy, all we dreamed about and so much more. You keep us on our toes with your love for life and your "give it all you got" attitude. I love you, your Daddy loves you and Emma loves you more than you will ever know.

We HEART Weekends

2011-10-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

Friday night football (we are 5-0), Ballet, visit to see Grandma, playdate and so much more filled our weekend. We welcomed the beautiful Fall weather with open arms and are hoping it is around to stay.

Emma invited Lauren over for a playdate today and they played outside, inside, baked cupcakes, played dolls and kitchen. Lauren and Emma have been in dance together for 2 years now and she also lives in our neighborhood. These two had a good time playing together and did a great job baking cupcakes too.

Emma was not making a silly face in this picture, she was really trying to lick cake batter out of one of the little holders before they went into the oven. The girl has NO self control around batter or icing, so it is all I can do to keep her hands and tongue out of it.

Seriously, I am not sure that PBK intended for Gavin to be taking stroller rides in the doll stroller. My kids love to pretend, so today Gavin was the baby and Emma was the Mommy. Notice the baby bottle in his mouth?

Love + Love = Love

2011-09-29T12:30:00.002-05:00

This week I had a conversation with my Principal and something he said to me stuck out in my mind and I have thought about it non stop. We were talking about kids, parents, about life and being a Mommy.

While we were talking he said, "Laura, people love the way they were loved as a child." I can not get the thought out of mind.

Of course it is not the first time I have been made aware of this, studied the thought or done huge amounts of research on the topic. After all, I am a certified school counselor, licensed professional counselor and hold a masters degree in counseling. I know this, but I have found myself clinging to those 10 words this week.

In our house we love hard, we hug alot, we kiss a ton, we freely express intimate moments with one another and encourage our children to be open about their feelings. I love you is a word that flies around our home often & our kids know they are unconditionally loved. Emma and Gavin are LOVERS to the point it is annoying to their friends, because they want to hug, hold hands & kiss everyone they come in contact with and their friends are not always accepting of their affection.

Perhaps I am clinging to these words because I can do better. I know that I am a work in progress and there are days I fail miserably at loving the way God loves me. Maybe I can love more, love one on one, love with more time, love through a story, love through my words, love through my touch, love by example and love through my actions.

Not sure what is stirring inside of me, but I do know that I want people to look at my babies when they are adults and think... "Laura, your kids are an amazing example of what it means to love the way they were loved as a child!"

Ribbit~Ribbit

2011-09-27T20:04:00.000-05:00

With the help of our weenie dog, Emma Lou scored a frog this evening. Any trip to the backyard where an animal/insect is captured is considered SUCCESS. Poor little frog just did not know what he was in for when her net snapped down on top of him. Gavin stood on the sidelines cheering her on and shouting, "come here little guy, come here."

Look at the smile on her face after she knew the frog was in the net for good. Daddy helped keep him from jumping out and then he went inside to get some rubber gloves (ha ha).

Not sure if you can really get warts from frogs, so we had Emma glove up just in case. That was a good idea for about 5 seconds and then our animal loving 4 year old fell in love with Mr. Frog.

So much for the glove because she quickly cuddled him the way any Mommy would cuddle her baby. Gavin was having no part of touching it, he would get close and then take off running and screaming, "that's gross Emma, that is gross."

Might be gross to you little man, but your sister LOVES it and you better get use to her little animal loving self because it is here to stay. I was joking with her and said, "Oh Emma, if you are going to be a veterinary one day you better get used to touching those animals, you don't need a glove." She quickly said, "I am not going to be a vet one day, I am going to be a MOMMY!"

Friday Night Lights

2011-09-24T14:25:00.002-05:00

Our boys dominated on the field last night and played a tough game that left us sitting at 4-0 for the season.

Emma was super excited about the game, having dinner in the "box" and seeing the Cheerleaders.

The Frazier Four ready and waiting on the game to begin. We were so proud to sport our Maroon and Gold to support the mighty Bulldogs to victory.

Gavin brought his football to the game and the lady at the front gate did NOT approve. The ball ended up hiding out in Momma's bag for the entire game.

Emma fell in love with Bria 2 years ago and has not stopped loving her since. When she was getting dressed for the game she said, "Mom, my uniform is tight. Do you think Bria's is tight too?"

My little man dreaming of the day he can be on the field suited up and putting all that energy to good use. He was so cute tonight when he was screaming, "Go Bulldogs Go, Hit em, Touchdown."

I can just see these two, years from now walking in a stadium together for their very own football game. Though it has been tough, I am so glad they are only 20 months apart these days. They love each other and are the best of buds, even on the days they fight non stop.

Looking forward to what the rest of this "season" holds for the Bulldogs and my family!

Pop Tart @ 3:47AM

2011-09-23T05:55:00.001-05:00

Both of my kiddos have great sleeping habits and bedtime has never been a hassle around our house. Last night or should we say early this morning, around 3:25AM, I heard a certain little boy stirring in his bed. I listened for a while as he talked to himself and then he started hollering, "Momma, Momma, Momma". I decided I better go see what was going on after I realized he was not going back to sleep until he got a response from me.

I walked in his room and he jumped up and said, "Momma, I am starving and I need a Pop Tart now." Hmmm, nothing like a STRONG WILLED child who knows exactly what they want, right? I explained to him that it was dark outside and he needed to go back to sleep. I even opened up the blinds to show him it was the middle of the night and attempted to cover him back up. He jumped right back up and said, "Momma, I am starving. Pwease Momma, I need a Pop Tart". I told him I would got get the Pop Tart, lay it on his dresser and he could eat it as soon as he woke up. "Nope, I need it now Momma pwease."

Yep, I gave in to the Pop Tart request. Not sure if it was the "pwease" or "I'm starving" part that pulled at my heart strings the most. Good part for me was I got to hold him in my lap for 15 uninterrupted minutes and look at his sweet little face while he ate it. Worth it to me, but his Daddy thought I was nuts and perhaps that is because he lets him hold, hug and kiss him all the time. You got it, I am second best to this kid, so I will take 3:47AM any day he decides to share it with me.

Pop Tart + 3:47AM + Sitting in my lap = One happy boy and One happy Momma! That was the last package of Pop Tarts buddy, so you might want to stay asleep tonight.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2011-09-22T12:07:00.001-05:00

Dear Football Season,

The Frazier Four have missed you, the bright lights, the click clacking of helmets hitting, the Band, the Cheerleaders, the school spirit and all you bring with you.

These kiddos are super excited to have their feet back on the turf and my heart is giddy that they get to be involved in my career and exposed to so many different sporting events at such a young age. I hope they will develop a deep love for academics and athletics.

I often wonder what these two will choose to participate in when the time comes. Looking forward to spending Football Season with my sweet little family of four!

Emma's First Night Away

2011-09-16T21:21:00.002-05:00

Yes, my baby left this evening with her Nana and her big cousin Camryn for her very first night away from home. Emma is 4 years 3 months old and up until tonight she has never stayed away from home and I have no regrets about that decision at all. I am just one of those Momma's that does not enjoy or want to be away from my babies unless it is work related.

She has been looking forward to this night for the last two weeks when Nana invited her and Camryn for a girls night. All week she has been counting down the days and talking about going to the nail spa, dinner, baking and watching movies with her Nana.

She was most excited that I told her she could have her fingernails painted a very pale pink. She is never allowed to have polish on her hands, I am just not a fan of it and want her to wait till she is older to do certain things (so toenail polish is all she has been allowed to have). I just spoke to my MIL and she said Emma proclaimed loud and clear when she walked into the nail spa, "My Mom said I can only get my nails painted a very pale pink".

Emma was packed up and hanging out by the front door when I got home from work, pacing the floor waiting for her Nana to show up. This girl was super excited and I was excited for her, even though I miss her like crazy.

She did not hesitate to climb right in and tell us goodbye after giving us both "Two Kisses & a Hug!" Gavin started getting a little nervous when it was time for us all to start a huggin and a kissin.

You are looking at two happy little girls that were ready to get the party started. No telling what they will talk Nana into doing and how they will sleep since Emma toted Tilda, Piper, white dog, Violet, her blanket and a pillow along.

Poor Nana had to suffer through dinner at "Chika Fil A" and some playground time. The kids might have been a little active in there, because my sweet child decided to inform Nana out loud, "Some of these kids parents need to teach them how to act Nana". Bwahahahahah, she is so my child.

While we had very happy little girls, we ended up with one VERY unhappy little boy. His heart was broken that his big sister, best friend, playmate, bath buddy, TV partner and companion was in that car driving away.

He was sad, angry and devastated all in one and started crying the ugly cry, you know the one where you are gasping for air. He just kept screaming, "I want my Emma, I want my Emma, I want to go get her, lets go get my Emma Momma". We finally got him settled down with the promise of some ice cream, but it took a good while. These two do not like to be away from each other, even at nap time if Gavin gets up first he wants to wake Emma up immediately. He is way more dependant on her and I don't think we realized how much until tonight when they were separated for the first time ever, besides MDO.

In my heart, I know this is a good experience for all of us. No doubt Emma is having a blast and we have enjoyed our alone time with our little man. Not too sure he will let Emma get out of his sight once she gets home, he is lost with her.

Praying my little girl, Camryn and Nana all get a good nights sleep and enjoy their girl time. I am off to snuggle with my two favorite boys and watch Shark Tale (Gavin's choice).

***Update: Emma did great at Nana's. She did not go to sleep till 12:30 and talked Nana's ear off while Camryn was fast asleep. She had a blast even though her little brother was lost without her.

51 Months

2011-09-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

My sweet girl is 51 months old and sweet as ever! It is probably about time I stop taking these monthly pictures, but I just can't let go. She is as special as they come in so many ways.

Emma has officially been in Pre K for a month and she loves her school, her teachers, her classmates and learning. I am amazed at all she is learning and her interest in learning more. She is reading, writing, doing math, memorizing scriptures, comparing and contrasting, being creative and on fire about school. She has been star student, the class leader and loves to participate in weekly show & tell that relates to the letter they are studying.

The transition back to school has been a great one and she looks forward to going to MDO everyday from 9-12. Her Daddy still walks her all the way to class and gives her "Two Kisses & a Hug" which makes for a great day.

Her love is still very strong for her family, animals, insects, her babies, dancing, pretending, crafting, Jesus, her baby brother and riding her bike. Four years old has brought some talking back along with it, but she is slowly realizing it is not in her best interest to always have the last word.

Happy 51 months of life Emma Lou! We love you more than you will ever understand and can not wait to see what all God has in store for you.

Little Beach Bums

2011-09-12T12:37:00.000-05:00

We ended a very relaxing weekend by enjoying lunch with family and a trip to the beach. My husband might just think I have lost my mind since I pulled out all the Fall/Halloween decorations this weekend and got that marked of my list of things to do. The next couple weeks are crazy busy for us with Homecoming festivities, Football Games, Dance, Gymnastics and LIFE!

Sweet Peyton and Gavin had a big time playing in the sand. Emma kept calling it mud (ha ha) and asking her Daddy, "Why did you bring us to the beach with mud Daddy?" Silly girl, guess she is a little spoiled to those beaches in the Bahamas.

There is not a cousin that Emma does not love or hug constantly when she is around them. It is so cute to watch her baby talk to Peyton and ask her sweetly what she needs or wants. These two chased Marla and giggled uncontrollably the entire time. Our favorite thing to do was watch the thousands of Clams bury themselves in the sand.

Gavin was so excited to catch his first fish! It was a dead one that he found lying on the beach and he carried it around for about 30 minutes hollering, "I caught a fish Momma, I caught a fish". He ran up to Marla and Dwain with it and they were just a wee bit disgusted. It was hilarious until he and his big sister started touching its eyeballs that were poking out.

Emma had sand from head to toe by the time we left, but she enjoyed herself and had a great day right along with the rest of us. It was big fun to spend the day with Dwain, Marla, Peyton, Myron & Elnora. So glad we got to see them before they head back to Steamboat for a couple months. We are hoping to pay them a visit in Steamboat soon.

Remembering & Praying

2011-09-11T09:25:00.001-05:00

Praying for so many people and for the safety of OUR GREAT NATION as we reflect on the devastation that impacted so many, 10 years ago today.

"Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger.

--George W. Bush

Pure Sweetness

2011-09-09T23:03:00.001-05:00

Gavin has become so super sweet lately and I am enjoying all the smooches and big hugs I am getting from him. I could kiss this cute little face all day long and never have enough!

Those chubby little feet warm my heart and tell a story. A story of a little boy that is funny, happy, energetic, outgoing, affectionate and smart. A little boy I am blessed to call my Son, that will always have a story that matters to me.

Our Caterpillars have arrived

2011-09-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

We are working super hard these days to keep these two little ones away from the TV, by limiting their viewing time to about 30 minutes a day. They spend most of their time creating camping scenes, playing school, chasing wild animals and creating things at the craft table. Some of their favorite things to do these days are cut paper, paint, color, play with a hand held hole punch and tape things up. Both of my kiddos are extremely creative and can pretend to the point it is almost believable. I love to listen to them scream when a bear is approaching their campsite or bring monsters to life while they are walking through the forest.

Emma has always wanted a Butterfly house and every time she sees the commercial on Sprout she begs for it. Guess what finally arrived yesterday? When we walked to the mailbox the caterpillars were sitting at the edge and Emma squealed at the top of her lungs, then took off to share the news with Daddy. "They are here Daddy, they are here."

Gavin was napping, but he wanted to hold them as soon as he woke up. He just kept shouting, "my butterflies, my butterflies" and then he sent them sailing across the room. We had to explain to him that he could not throw them or they would not live.

We got all five of them nestled in a dark and cool place last night and now we wait for 7-10 days while they for cocoons. It is going to be exciting times around our house in the next couple weeks and this is just the beginning of our projects to keep these little minds busy.

Happy Labor Day

2011-09-05T10:31:00.023-05:00

We spent the day poolside yesterday surrounded by family and it was a BLAST for everyone! All the littlest Carnes cousins were together yesterday and when it finally got dark, no one was ready to say goodbye (just might be the reason we got home right before midnight).

These kids could make anyone smile and have a great day. Sweet Brynlee getting suited up for the day, Gavin enjoying some good ole tater chips, Peyton ready to show off her ISR skills and Jackson (the littlest Carnes) testing the water.

Emma was not about to let her BIG COUSINS get one up on her, so she jumped off the bridge right along with them all day. After a few jumps she decided to take off her life jacket and swim to the side like the rest of them.

This is just few of the cousins having fun when the party first got started. By the end of the day there were kiddos everywhere laughing, screaming, squealing, kicking and splashing.

I am not sure who loves who more out of these four. Emma can never get enough hugs from Hunter and Camryn and those two can't keep their lips off Gavin. They are all so super duper in love with each other and it makes my heart smile.

Gavin had a blast playing with his BIG COUSIN Wyman Saturday and Sunday. Hmmm...we are thinking Gavin might be his mini-me, they are both pretty wild and rambunctious. Gavin is probably the most HILARIOUS kid I have ever been around in my life and the rest of the family agrees. This boy has more personality than we know what to do with at times.

These kiddos played and pushed one another on this raft for the most part of the day. We had to keep a close eye on them because they could often be found floating out a little to far. I sure wished we could have squeezed all of them around this little table and gotten their picture at lunchtime, might be the cutest group of kids I have ever seen!

Some of my favorite little melon heads chowing down, they meant serious business when it came time for watermelon. Hudson, Emma & Gavin had watermelon juice from head to toe.

Boys will be boys, big or small. Hunter & Kaiden insisted that I stand by the slide and watch all of their tricks. They would put the fish float and this mat on the slide and both jump on for a wild ride. They informed me that they go much faster when the fish are underneath the mat before they take off. It was hilarious to watch all the crazy ways they came flying down. Sweet Hudson wanted to slide down with Curtis, but did not want to go under the water at all.

Anytime there is a gathering Emma and Hudson are the best of friends and can not get enough of one another. They are so sweet and will do whatever the other one does as long as they do it together. Hudson will be welcoming Baby Brother Maddox in 9 more weeks, so next year we will have 1 more Carnes Cousin to add to the bunch.

You are looking at the BEST DADDY in the world and his kids love him beyond explanation. Curtis provides the entertainment for all the kiddos on days like yesterday. He plays with them non-stop and I am not sure who has more fun, them or him.

My sweet nephew Hunter, which happens to be the oldest one of the bunch showed all the little ones how it is supposed to be done. He is so wonderful in the water and really looks out for all the itty bittys and makes sure they are safe and having a good time.

Yesterday was BIG FUN for all of us and just what we needed after a roller coaster of a week with Sterling's Story being released worldwide. It was great to be together, laugh, love on one another and talk about Sterling. We are so proud of Marla and the courage she had to share the heartbreaking story of her sweet little boy in hopes of saving someone else from the heartache we all know to well. Although yesterday was pretty close to perfect, there will always be an energetic dark haired little boy missing that we all long to see again someday.

"My cousins are my friends that will love me forever"

Happy Labor Day 2011

G-Man is TWO and a HALF!

2011-09-03T21:12:00.003-05:00

This little boy is getting so BIG right before my eyes and I am not sure I like it. The baby phase seems to be fading quickly and a rough tough little boy emerges more and more everyday. The personality on this boy is unbelievable and he often makes me laugh so hard I cry. This just might be one of my favorite pictures of all times, I can never get enough of that smile.

I would not change a single thing about you or your HUGE personality. You are everything God intended for little boys to be and all of that rambunctiousness makes me love you so much more. You have taught me that everything does not have to be perfect, dents in the walls are what makes a house a HOME, stains are okay, lots of things can be thrown, anything can become a "shooter" and your hair does not always have to be combed.

You remind me so much of my Daddy and no doubt he is in Heaven laughing daily at all of your energy. There are days when you smile or say something that assure me so much of him is alive in you. God knew exactly what he was doing when he created every part of you, amazing how he knew what I needed in a Son!

I love every single thing about you Little Man. Thank you so much for teaching me what little boys are all about.

Sterling's Story

2011-08-29T14:47:00.007-05:00

Some of you know that we had a 2.5 year old cousin, Sterling Scott Carnes drown in March of 2007. His Mom, Marla has bravely decided to team up with CrossFit and ISR to share his story and hopefully save someone else from living the nightmare they have lived.

I wanted to share the link with all of you and ask you to share this with your friends and family who have a pool or have small children. Marla will be featured today and the next 2 days sharing Sterling's Story.

CrossFit Journal
Not One More Child Drowns

There is the written story, but also a video to the side that you can download (about 15 minutes long). While it was difficult for me to watch this for so many reasons, it reminded me that you can NEVER be TOO CAREFUL! I will be the first to tell you, they NEVER let this child out of their sight. It was truly a freak accident that none of us will ever forget. Marla ask that you keep in mind that drownings can happen at your home, at other people's homes, in the summer, in a bathtub, during the winter, in a ditch or when you least expect it.

We miss sweet Sterling and think about him daily. He and Gavin share so many of the same characteristics and energy! I love this picture of us dancing together at my wedding.

Please share this with any and everybody you know. I pray NONE of us ever have to walk this road, but I am so appreciative that Marla was brave enough to share her story with the world. I know Sterling is proud of his Mommy today too!

Gymnastics with Gavin

2011-08-16T21:08:00.003-05:00

One of my goals this summer was to find an activity that Gavin could begin this Fall when Emma went back to dance. It was important to me because I wanted him to be involved in an organized sport, have a place to channel his energy and I did not think it was fair for Emma to always be involved in things while he sat on the sideline and watched. After searching and searching, I realized the only thing a TWO year old could be involved in was gymnastics. Emma started gymnastics at 18 months old, so we returned to the same gym to register our little man for the weekly Parent & Tot class.

Last night was our first night at gymnastics and it was WILD! Gavin was overstimulated from the second we walked in the door and he never slowed down until we walked out or should I say ran out. I know people think I am kidding when I say this, but I promise you this little boy has more energy than five two year olds combined.

Mrs. Ronette was super surprised to see us walk in and even more surprised to see how big Gavin had gotten. He was a newborn when Emma was in gymnastics. It took her about 3 minutes to observe Gavin and start laughing hysterically saying, "Wow, he is so much different than Emma."

There were about 8 little girls that showed up for the 1st night of class and Gavin was the only boy. I wish you could have seen the looks on the faces of all the first time, stay at home girl mommas when we made our grand entrance. All of them were sitting on the floor Indian style with their pink leotard wearing daughters glaring at the only boy that entered the room. Class began with stretching and Gavin decided he wanted no part of sitting still and stretching, so I got up and just followed behind him as he tested every piece of equipment around within 4 minutes. After testing out all the equipment he decided to start hopping around like a frog shouting, "ribbit ribbit" and shooting his imaginary gun at the pictures on the walls in the room. By this time it was obvious that all the SAHM's were not impressed, nor did they appreciate the rambunctiousness of my little boy.

Gavin was afraid of nothing and needed no explanation on what he was suppose to do at each station. He ran around like a maniac but never acknowledged the other kids in the room, so why did their Momma's think it was important to comment on my very active two year old toddler, oh and let me not forget...that is a BOY!

Mrs. Ronette kept laughing and tried to assist Gavin at each of the stations. At one point she tried to pull him by the legs on the trampoline and quickly realized Gavin is strong as a mule. I think she was honestly blown away by his level of energy. All I could do was LAUGH!

About 20 minutes into class I was sweating like a pig and Gavin was soaked from sweat. Thank goodness Daddy came along with us, so we decided to switch and Daddy came in to chase around our overstimulated, two year old, very active little boy.

Here are a few of the comments we heard within the 45 minutes we were in class from the stay at home girl mommas:

Wow, he has alot of energy
Me and my husband really wanted a boy this time since we have our daughter, but man after seeing him I am thankful I am having another girl
Is he always like that?
Stay away from that little boy, I don't know what he will do
Uh, if he is going to be on the trampoline just get off, get off now!
He is all boy
How do you keep up with him?
I bet if you would have had him first, you would have never had her.

Seriously, are you freaking kidding me people? This is my SON you are talking about at a level where me or his Daddy can hear you! What was I suppose to say? I just kind of smiled, responded and tried to keep up with Gavin. By the end of class, I had heard enough of their comments along with the looks they continued to send my way every time Gavin moved. I wanted to tell them to STOP staring and pay attention to their own whiny kid. However, I kept quiet and thought that I would have acted the same way if this wild man had been in our class when Emma started gymnastics.

Now look at this little face and tell me if you think he had a good time jumping off the trampoline into the foam pit. This boy had a blast and when it was time to go, we were all EXHAUSTED. I figure we will take small steps with Gavin and hopefully in a week or two he will be accustomed to class and participating in the warm up (a Momma can wish).

In the meantime I saw a sign for indoor Soccer that allows them to start participating at two. I plan on checking into those details and possibly letting him do soccer opposed to gymnastic. I am not sure I can keep smiling week after week if the SAHM's keep making comments about my child (ha ha). If they catch me on a not-so-good day, I might end up in jail or letting Gavin get em'.

Gavin, you did an awesome job in your class little buddy. We were so proud of you and how brave you were when it came to trying out new things. It is safe to say that you LOVED gymnastics and enjoyed all of the climbing, jumping, running and rolling that you squeezed into 45 minutes. I am thinking all the bow head Momma's were just a little jealous of your ability to hang from the rings while squealing like a little monkey. Heck who knows, perhaps it was how fast you cleared the rock wall or dove off the trampoline. Whatever it was, they better WATCH IT because your Momma is out their trying to recruit more rambunctiousness to join the class. Yep, I am proud to be in the boy club.

I have said it once and I will say it again, I can not imagine Gavin being any other way than the way he was at gymnastics. I love that he is so active, inquisitive, rambunctious, athletic, busy and wild. Yes, it makes for a long day and one tired Mommy, but I love my little man with everything that is in me.

Gymnastics was tiring for me and Daddy, but so worth it to watch Gavin be able to release so much energy and have fun doing it. Thanking God for my rowdy little boy tonight, loving the fact that he is so different from his BIG sister, appreciating his zest for life and so blessed and honored to call him my SON!

First Day of MDO 2011

2011-08-15T22:32:00.001-05:00

Our kiddos went back to MDO today to start a new school year and they were super excited for their little feet to hit the floor this morning. Emma entered into PreK with Mrs. Becky and Mrs Violet and Gavin moved up to the 2 year old room with Mrs. Yuri. They will be going from 9-12 this year and I am already dreading that this is Emma's last year before big school.

We have been talking about school starting for a couple of weeks in our house to get them back into the swing of things after having Mommy home for the summer. Every time we asked G-man if he was ready to go back he always shouted, "nope"!

We put the little bus on our Happy Everything plate a while back and Emma quickly informed me that they did not have a bus that runs in our neighborhood for her school. This girl is eager to ride a big yellow bus to school one day.

Last night we got backpacks ready to go and hung them in the utility room where they would be easy to grab when we were headed out the door for school. The kids are so good about making sure their backpacks are hung back up at the end of everyday and I appreciate that.

We had parent orientation last Thursday at our Preschool and Emma's teacher Mrs. Becky sent her home with homework and a star for the first day of school. Her assignment was to create a story board on this star about her summer or her family. We let Emma choose and she chose her summer along with all the pictures she wanted to go on it. She did a great job organizing it and Daddy and I assisted her on her first project.

Today when she got to school she had to present her story board to the class and she was very excited to tell us all about it when she arrived home. We worked really hard this weekend on it and Emma practiced presenting it several times as her Daddy and I pretended to be her classmates. I love that she is not shy when it comes to public speaking and I am so glad she is getting the opportunity to do this at such an early age.

We are really looking forward to having Mrs. Becky this year, she has been at our preschool for 22 years and seems to have very high expectations for her students. They will be covering a kindergarten curriculum and some first grade skills before the year is over.

Here is Emma Lou before school this morning holding her star. She insisted her hair be in a french braid and refused to let me pull it up any other way. I tried to pull it a little tight in the beginning so she would give in and let me put it half up, but it did not work and she won with the braid.

Little man was not interested in having his picture taken at all and kept telling me he was Superman while playing with an empty lighter and pretending it was a gun.

They looked like pros this morning walking in and going straight to their classes. I attempted to get a picture of them side by side, but the truth is I think they are sick of me and my camera.

Making their way down the hallway to find their new classes, new teachers and old friends.

I finally got them to stop and take a picture with me real quickly before they rushed into the room to start playing. I was so PROUD of both of them this morning. Sure does make life alot easier on this Mommy when they stay willingly and there are no tears involved. Daddy was back to get them at noon and both of them had a great first day.

When we left this morning, Gavin had found his way to the water fountain and no telling what happened next.

All in all, it was a great day that ended with Emma at Jazz and Gavin at his first night of gymnastics. Oh boy, Gymnastics was WILD and I can not wait to post pictures tomorrow along with a couple of stories. He loved it and was overstimulated beyond belief. Lets just say the other Mommy's did not appreciate his rambunctiousness.

Jazz

2011-08-08T20:15:00.001-05:00

Tonight we kicked off a new season of dance with one very excited little girl on our hands. After this years recital Emma was on fire about taking more than one dance class. We visited the studio this summer and had her evaluated where she was given permission to take Jazz along with her Ballet and Tap class. Our Dance studio only allows students 5 and up to participate in Jazz.

After we had Emma evaluated she was invited to join company with a hand full of other 4 year olds. Emma thought it was a great idea, but because of the time commitment Mommy decided it was best that we wait another year and continue to nurture her interest in dance.

We did decide with the studio owners encouragement and blessing to enroll her in Primary Jazz, which is a 5 year old class. I was very concerned because Emma just celebrated her birthday in June and is a very young four, but we decided to give it a try. We both were confident that Emma could do it based on her ability to listen, follow directions and the discipline she displayed during her Ballet class and at recital.

Emma was ecstatic and has talked about Jazz nonstop since we enrolled. We visited our local dance store and purchased new dance clothes, ballet shoes, tights and jazz shoes. She came home and organized it and started counting the days to Jazz. She really liked the fact that she could wear another color besides PINK!

I was so proud of her this evening when she walked in class, removed her skirt and went straight to her spot on the floor. She was so excited to be in class with all the 5/6 year olds and was determined not to be the rookie. Her little friend Lauren is in the same class, so she was excited to see a familiar face.

Emma did a great job and was able to keep up with her other classmates. It was obvious that Emma really enjoyed the challenge of being with the older girls.

After class she told me, "Mom I really love Jazz more than I love Ballet, but I still love Ballet." I knew after watching her that she truly enjoyed the pace of class and learning new skills. One of the conditions for her being in Jazz is that she has to remain in a Ballet/Tap class so hopefully she continues to enjoy Ballet.

After class she wanted to stay after and observe the Primary Ballet class. She is really hoping that she might get bumped up from Preschool Ballet this week and asked to join the older girls. Regardless of where she ends up, I continue to tell her that we are so proud of her and how far she has come from the first time she walked in the studio.

We picked up our dance recital DVD tonight and she is watching it for the 3rd time and trying to do all the dances she sees the other girls doing.

We are very excited to watch Emma dance her way through her 2nd year of dance and are so proud of what a great dance student she has become. Keep dancing Emma Caroline!

Don’t dance for the audience; dance for yourself.

~ Bob Fosse

Happy Camp 2011

2011-08-07T21:26:00.001-05:00

This weekend we ventured off to a resort on the lake for "My Cousins Rock ~ Back to School Weekend 2011". We did not tell the kiddos where we were going for the weekend and my nephew Hunter was very nervous. Nana and I had him convinced we were going camping for a while and he was completely miserable with the thought of it. I can not say I blame him since it has been 102 degrees around here.

Emma & Gavin love their big cousins and they are pretty crazy about them too. Gavin will be moving up to the 2 year old classroom this year, Hunter is going to 4th grade, Cameron is going to be our big kindergartner and Emma is beginning Pre K 4.

Curtis and I stayed up the night before we left to make these silly little Tshirts for all of them and they wore them with pride.

We stayed in a suite facing the lake and had big fun jumping on the beds, eating pizza, swimming, sliding, roasting marshmallows, watching the pirate show, floating the lazy river, making smores, feeding the ducks, enjoying fireworks, playing checkers and just hanging out.

These four did not have a problem finding things to entertain themselves and it was monkey see, monkey do all weekend long.

These two played their hearts out this weekend with their favorite two cousins and really did not want the weekend to come to an end.

Lots of first timers around this fire roasting their Marshmallows to make smores and they turned out so YUMMY!

Just ask Emma Lou, she thought they were finger licking good and so did we. Hunter and Aunt Stacey turned their marshmallows completely black, but we still ate them.

This little girl has become a really good swimmer this summer and is officially using her arms and legs properly in the water while swimming. Daddy taught her to come up for breaths this weekend and she can almost make it across the pool all by herself. She loves the water and has become very confident in her abilities, sometimes a little too confident. Looks like we will be joining Coach John next summer for swim team if she continues to improve her skills and her love for swimming.

Hunter was so excited from the second we arrived at the resort because of the Chess and Checkers game. He enjoyed teaching Emma how to play until Gavin kept taking the checkers away and throwing them everywhere.

Cameron was so sweet all weekend and has finally realized that Emma is going to kiss and hug her constantly no matter if she likes it or not. Emma just can not get enough of her and Cameron can not get enough of Gavin.

Emma had to sport this big purple neoprene swimband because of her recent ear surgery. To date this is the most expensive headband I have purchased (ha ha), but the little sucker did its trick and her ears stayed dry.

Here they go on the Lazy River and looks like Hunter is leading the way.

It is a miracle Gavin is not sick every time we leave a pool of any kind because when he gets thirsty he handles the situation himself.

I love all these kiddos so much and am truly blessed that they are a part of my life. I really enjoyed watching all of them run, laugh and play together this weekend.

Hunter loved the water slides and each of us took turns sliding with him. I think he liked sliding with Uncle Curtis the best because they would lay down and go super fast. This boy is sweet, polite and I hope Gavin loves me one day as much as he loves his Momma.

Emma climbed the stairs a couple times and went down the big red slide with Mommy and Daddy. I think it might have been a little too fast for her liking because she decided she would rather wait at the bottom and watch Hunter shoot out into the water.

So this was our last little adventure before school starts and I am so glad we made time to fit this into all of our busy schedules.

We were excited that Nana got to join us on our little getaway and we are already thinking about where we will spend "My Cousins Rock" next summer.

As the summer comes to an end and the COUSINS get ready to head back to school, I am praying and hoping that they all have the best school year ever. I hope they are blessed with God loving teachers that will love and nurture them while making them rise to very high expectations. I pray that school will be a great experience for each one of them and they continue to love learning. I know each one of them will be successful and soar during the 2011-2012 school year.

My Mommy

2011-07-27T22:32:00.002-05:00

Tonight at bedtime Emma wanted to have a serious conversation with me and it might be one of the sweetest ones we have ever had. Every night at bedtime we do the same thing. Her Daddy and I both go in her room, tuck her in, pray with her, I give her 'two kisses & a hug', Daddy gives her 'two kisses & a hug' and I get 'two more kisses & a hug'. She tells us good night while snuggling under the covers with Tilda, Piper and white dog then I press Violets paw and Jingle Bells starts playing. Yes, she loves to go to sleep to Jingle Bells every single night.

Tonight when it was time for me to walk out she said, "Mom, in the morning I need to talk to you about something". It concerned me a little bit so I turned around said, "Oh Emma we can talk now, you don't have to wait until morning baby." I did not have to convince her to talk, she was ready and willing, it went something like this.

E:    Mom, I love you and you are the best Mommy ever.
M:   Thank you Emma, I think you are the best daughter ever.
E:    Will you always be my Mommy?
M:   Of course I will always be your Mommy baby, why?
E:    Well what happens when I get big Mom?
M:   I will still be your Mommy Emma no matter how big you get.
E:    But what happens when I become a Mommy?
M:   I will still be your Mommy Emma.
E:    So even when I am a Mommy, you will still be my Mommy?
M:   No matter how old you are or if you become a Mommy, I will always be your Mommy.
E:    Mom, I am glad you will always be my Mommy.
M:   Emma, I love you and I am so glad I always get to be your Mommy too.
E:    Goodnight Mom, I love you.
M: Goodnight baby, I love you too. (of course I had to hug and kiss her some more)

When I was getting ready for bed I remembered this little rock she found in the Bahamas and insisted I take a picture of her with it because it looked like a heart. She told me that heart stood for how much she loved me, her Daddy and Gavin.

At four, she is so honest with her feelings and it makes me proud. I love that she has such a tender heart and is such an affectionate child. Thanking God tonight that I am her Mommy, she is my daughter and that will never change.

Heading Back

2011-07-25T22:40:00.015-05:00

This morning I headed back to work after being off for 6 weeks. This has been an amazing summer, which makes it even tougher to head back so soon. My kids were big enough this year to be on the go constantly and that is how we spent our entire summer. Of course we were gone on vacation for 10 days, but the rest of our time was packed with play dates and enjoying the outdoors.

I spent time in prayer last night because I know it is difficult on all of us when I first go back. We are so blessed and thankful to have an amazing Nanny that loves our kiddos. She helps us in so many ways and affords us extra time with our babies during the work week. Emma and Gavin were super excited to see her and Baby Kain this morning and will probably talk her ears off today.

Although I was a little sad this morning, I am excited to get back to what I do BEST and LOVE, mentoring 1800 high school students. Every year I always struggle and ask myself if I am making a bigger impact at work than I could make as a SAHM? Honestly, the answer is YES! I love what I do and feel that my career is my calling in life. Every year I just pray I can make a difference in one life and if it ends up being more, God gets all the glory.

My sweet husband gave me the most beautiful card last night and thanked me for making sure our kids had a memorable summer and for being the best Mommy. I will keep that card in my office and read it daily when I start missing the TWO most amazing kids I know.

After 15 years in public education there is still something very exciting about a new beginning and a new school year. We are looking forward to Gavin moving up to the 2 year old room and Emma entering a very structured Pre-K program at MDO. Our calendars will be packed with Emma taking Ballet, Tap and Jazz, while Gavin goes to Gymnastics. I searched high and low for an extra curricular activity for our BUSY little man and this is all that is available for a 2 year old. I think it is so important for them to be involved and to learn early on about commitment and not giving up. We are longing for Friday night Football and can not wait to see some action on the Volleyball court. So many things to look forward to at the start of a new school year and no doubt we will be super busy.

While I struggled this morning to leave the two littlest people I love more than I could ever explain, I believe with all my heart that my career makes me a better Mommy for so many reasons. There is no way I could be successful at what I do without a supportive and hands on Daddy, so Curtis is a huge blessing that does not go unnoticed. Right now this is what works for OUR FAMILY with the season we are in, but are fully aware that this season could change any day. I encourage you to do what works for you and your family without passing judgement on others, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to being a working Mommy or a SAHM (both are incredibly difficult at times). I document our choices in hopes my children will one day reflect back and see that we were committed to them having the best life ever while balancing careers.

You better believe that when the clock strikes 3:00 this afternoon, I am running straight home to hug, kiss, laugh and love on the rest of The Frazier Four!

Ouch, It got me!

2011-07-25T17:43:00.003-05:00

Every evening we try to spend quality family time riding bikes, swimming, walking, feeding the ducks, hunting for turtles, fishing or playing at the splash pad. Last night we set out to go swimming and thunder quickly put a halt on that, so we headed to the splash pad.

Our neighborhood splash pad is located by a clubhouse, a dry creek bed, a park and a little amphitheatre. After the kids played at the splash pad they wandered off to the grassy section and I lounged in the grass while Emma sang and danced on the stage. We had the kids compete in a couple little relay races while we cheered them on, it was hilarious. Gavin decided to start picking flowers off all the plants and bushes and we gave him fair warning that he was going to get stung by a bee if he did not stop.

Next thing we know here he comes running saying, "Ouch, it got me Daddy. It got me". No screaming, no crying, just a simple it got me. When he woke up this morning it was pretty swollen, red and had fever in it but he has yet to complain.

I wanted to get a picture of it but he kept smiling and singing, "I am bringing home a baby bumble bee, OUCH it stung me" so this is the best I could do.

I would say lesson learned, but no doubt this boy would go right back to flower picking tonight if we would let him.

Three Ring Circus

2011-07-21T20:31:00.000-05:00

Today we ventured out on a play date to the Circus with Brook and Luke. I am so glad I took this picture before we left the house or there might not have been very many pictures since I rarely had a free hand.

These two little clowns wore me smooth out today and there were times I felt like I was part of the Circus, seriously!

Emma and Brook love each other so much and have grown up together since the day they were born. Emma started asking me last night if I would put Brook's car seat close enough to hers where they could touch and hold hands. Emma is the really cuddly one and Brook likes her personal space, but she has come around and I think kind of likes Emma's hugs and hand holding now. This is the only picture I got of them today and I was lucky to get this.

By the time we finally got to our seats Cassi and I were sweating like we had ran a half marathon. We chose not to bring strollers with us and it was a little nerve racking keeping up with 4 kiddos in a crowd. Matter of fact we lost one of the four, can you guess who it was? You are looking at him and it scared us to death.

Gavin is quick and not afraid to wonder off by himself, so when we go anywhere I NEVER take my eyes or hands off of him. We got to the Circus an hour early so we could visit with the animals and see the pre show. Within seconds of being on the circus floor I looked down and Gavin was gone. I looked at Cassi and shouted a FOUR letter word and told Cassi not to move with the other 3 kiddos. I frantically started searching for him within the 10 feet perimeter and he was no where to be found. He had on a bright orange shirt, so I thought he would be super easy to locate (not so much). I am not sure what happened next but I was scared to death and I think Cassi finally located him about 20 feet away from us headed back towards the animals. I should have known since I had a hard time prying him off the elephant fence a little earlier. It only took about 2 minutes to locate him, but felt like 2 hours. For some reason I am afraid this little boy is going to give me many more scares in my life.

The kids all loved the elephants, tigers and the miniature horses today. I was not super impressed with the show and left there wishing the Circus was more like the one I saw as a kid, filled with real clowns and alot more animals.

After the Circus we went to eat at Chik Fil A and to visit sweet Cortney that is on house-rest waiting for her little Princess to arrive. We got to see her nursery which is cute as can be and it is obvious so much love went into creating such a sweet space for a special little girl.

Our play date was wonderful, but the girls were not ready to say good bye. We promised Brook she could come back very soon to play again.

I am so thankful for the friendships I share with Cassi and her kiddos. We have so much in common when it comes to where we are at in life with our kiddos and careers. It is nice to have someone to talk to about the good, the bad and the ugly. Today when we got in the car after the Circus we just looked at one another, high fived and laughed because it was hard work.

Gavin vs. the Dentist

2011-07-20T21:54:00.002-05:00

Both of the kiddos had appointments to have their teeth cleaned this morning bright and early. We have been talking to Gavin all week about the Dentist and Emma even showed him what would happen when he got there. Emma had the plan all organized and decided she would go first so Gavin could see how a FOUR year old gets their teeth cleaned.

While his brave big sister was up on the table getting her teeth cleaned this boy was playing Pac Man. I have to be honest, I wanted to jump on and play too. I think he ate a couple ghost up before it was his turn to jump up on the table or should I say off (ha ha).

Gavin found a big iguana he took a liking to, so we attempted to clean its teeth to make him happy but he was not having it. It was a joint effort to get his teeth cleaned and Emma tried to keep him entertained with Buzz. I warned all of them that he was a BITER and I am not sure she believed me until he bit through her latex glove and drew blood (OOPS).

After the hygienist finished with him he had to see the dentist. His teeth looked great and they were even able to get fluoride brushed on, so it was a successful visit. It is safe to say that Gavin was afraid of the dentist and the dentist might have been a little afraid of him too.

When he finally got to dive out of the chair he was mad and decided to lay down on the floor and pout for a little while. I just ignored him and eventually he decided to get up and head on over to the train table.

He was not a happy boy, but he sure was cute with that bottom lip sticking out. The dentist gave him two golden coins to use in a vending machine, however he was so mad he stuck them in his pocket and brought them home.

Emma was quite the trooper this go around and very interested in everything the hygienist and the dentist did to her mouth. She did get me in trouble with the dentist when she shouted out, "Dr. Jai, I am 4 years old now and I use my Daddy's toothpaste Crest White 3-D". Dr Jai said, "Hmmmm Emma that is great but I am not really sure that is a good idea" and I knew at that time the lecture was coming. He explained to me that the toothpaste was too abrasive for her teeth and she needed to go back to using kid toothpaste. Emma frowned on this and Dr. Jai reminded her she needed to continue using kid toothpaste until she could not fit on the table anymore. Lesson learned!

After we left the dentist we met my friend Jenny and her son Parker back at our house for a great lunch, swim and play date. Parker is 3 months younger than Emma, they played so well together and had a fun time.

We are looking forward to going to the Circus in the morning with Emma's best friend Brooke and her little brother Luke. Emma went to bed convinced that she is riding an elephant tomorrow and I told her she might want to dream about it tonight. As I was closing the door she said, "Well can I at least ride in the very back seat with Brooke?" (ha ha). Yep, third row it is for both you silly girls tomorrow.

Family Vacation 2011

2011-07-18T22:49:00.002-05:00

We have just recently returned from our family vacation to Walt Disney World and the Bahamas. There are so many things about this trip I want to document for the sake of my children and to preserve the wonderful memories we shared as The Frazier Four.

We tossed around so many things this year for vacation when we began planning and we knew all along we wanted to return to the Atlantis. When we started planning airfare was outrageous to say the least, therefore we explored a ton of different options. It ended up being far more economical for us to fly to the Bahamas by having a layover in Orlando. This is where the dream was born to take a multi destination vacation, so we opted for a 5 day layover in Orlando. Let me sum it all up for you, NO REGRETS!

We had lots of people tell us that our kids were way too young for Disney, it was way too hot, our kids would not remember it, it was the rainiest time of year and we would be miserable. I am so glad that we followed our hearts, stepped out on faith and experienced the vacation of a lifetime. In fact, our kids were the PERFECT age for Disney and we were able to do just as much on this visit as we would be able to do up until they are about 8 years old. It was truly a MAGICAL experience for all of us and we are dreaming of the day we return, which will be soon but not soon enough for us.

Curtis and I have both been to Disney several times, but there is something far more SPECIAL about experiencing Disney with your own children. There were so many times I could have bawled like a baby when I saw the look on my kiddos faces when they experienced the rides, characters, the castle, parades and the shows.

We happened to be at Disney on Curtis' birthday, so one of his birthday gifts was a replica of this bronze statue that he has loved since he was a little boy. His Mom has a picture of him and his sister in front of this statue year after year. Curtis is a lover of all things Disney and often recalls his best childhood memories being spent with his family on vacation at the HAPPIEST place on earth.

We try to buy one very nice souvenir everywhere we travel to put in our home office to remember our vacations, so Curtis plans to get a plaque made to mount on the base of this statue that signifies "Our first trip to Disney ~ The Frazier Four".

My plan is to blog our vacation from the beginning to cover all the details since this is a journal dedicated to my children. Let me begin by saying when we travel we take full advantage of the moment and rarely sleep.

We arrived in Orlando and were shuttled to our hotel. We chose to stay at the All Star Movies Resort in the Toy Story section for 2 reasons, cost and our children love Buzz, Woody and Jesse. It all seemed grand until we put the key in the room and opened up the door of our VALUE PROPERTY. Needless to say it was very small and well...it just was not going to work. After we got further in the room, I decided to go down and see if we could be transferred to another property regardless of the cost.

The second I walked out in the courtyard, which was Andy's room I felt horrible. I looked at the 3 story Buzz, Woody, Rexie, Bo Peep and everything that was in Andy's room and I said out loud, "I can't do this to my kids". I continued to walk to the front desk to see what the options might be and request bed rails, because there was no way I could let Gavin sleep in the crib they brought to us. The hotel manager was super nice and agreed to move all of our things the next morning to a room that had been renovated 3 weeks prior to our arrival. I wanted to move so bad, but I decided that it would have been so selfish of me to take my kids out of the Toy Story section. We stayed and I am so glad because we were only in our room to sleep about 7 hours every night.

Here is the view from where we stayed when we looked out by the elevator. Now do you see why I could have stayed anywhere for a few nights for my kids to be able to see this every morning and every night?

We would leave every morning about 8:00 and not return until after midnight and a couple of nights we rolled in even later. We opened and close the parks everyday that we were there, woo hoo! Our kids would take a little cap nap in the double stroller for about 20 minutes when we were walking from one ride to the next, but besides that they were troopers. They never complained about the lines, the rain, being tired or being hot and we were so PROUD of both of them. They were perfect, enjoyed Disney so much and are eager to go back.

R/C sat right outside of Andy's room and of course the kids had to touch and get in it every time we passed by on our way in or out. You can see the entrance to Andy's room in the background, can you tell we are a Toy Story family?

The weather in Orlando was hot and rainy with the temperatures rising to about 98 everyday. We were so thankful for the rain that occurred daily because it kept things cooled down to about 85 and it made for great days. We do not think we could have survived 16 hour days in the park had it been a consistent 98 degrees all day. We were prepared with a stroller cover and ponchos so the rain did not slow us down at all, we just continued on with our plans and no rides were closed due to the weather. Gavin would take his shoes off and run barefoot through the park, while Emma jumped in every puddle she could find.

We took full advantage of the Fast Pass system, Curtis was a genius and installed an app on his IPhone that told us the wait time in every line. We researched the park before we traveled and had an itinerary for each park based on popularity/wait time. This allowed us to cover all 4 parks and Downtown Disney, riding every ride we were eligible to ride, seeing shows and visiting with the characters. We were able to go to Magic Kingdom one full day and every evening. There were so many rides that we rode more than once because we loved them so much. We took full advantage of the extra park hours and were able to walk right on so many rides every night after the parade and fireworks. I do not think we waited in any line longer than 30 minutes to ride anything. It paid to research the parks out and to go so prepared.

At the time we traveled Emma had just celebrated her 4th birthday and Gavin was 2 years and 3 months old. They were able to do so much and were afraid of NOTHING. The second night Gavin decided he was terrified of the fireworks, so I would go inside a restaurant with him until they were over.

I can not wait to document the rest of our vacation and I am giddy now that I have started. There is no doubt in our minds that we will return to Disney very soon. We got a sneak peak of the new Fantasy Land that will be complete in 2012 and the new Beauty and the Beast Castle. We are already making plans on where we want to stay and dreaming of what we will do when we go back.

When I look through the 2000 pictures of our vacation, I truly believe that we made "Magical Memories" that will live in our hearts forever.

Picnic & Park

2011-07-17T21:46:00.000-05:00

We decided to have a picnic tonight for dinner at one of the lakes in our neighborhood. The kids were super excited and I was determined to find a spot where we would not be invaded by the ducks.

It did not take long for the ducks to approach us and Gavin spent most of his time chasing them off opposed to eating. What little he did eat of his sandwich he shared with the ducks.

This little girl always dreams of picnics in the park. She told me this evening that she wished we could eat dinner like this every night and she thinks it is a good idea if we eat in the same place tomorrow night.

All that duck chasing made this little boy thirsty. Gavin did make friends with an older gentleman that was fishing a little ways down from us and he was begging, "can I try, can I try please?" Guess we just might have to squeeze a little fishing in our schedule this week.

This sweet girl enjoyed all of her PB&J and offered none to the ducks. I think she might have the sweetest little smile I have ever seen.

He finally decided to take a little break, eat some Cheez-Its and visit with us. Do not let this picture fool you, he sat down for about 45 seconds total and then he was up and off again.

Life sure is sweeter when you get to share it with a sibling. I love watching my kids explore life together. They both were creeping closer and closer to the lake until their feet were finally at the edge. I am confident that someone is falling in before summer is over and if I had to guess...his name starts with a G!

We picnicked close to a little park that ended up being super fun for Emma and Gavin.

This little boy is so brave and gets braver and braver by the day. I do not know what is funnier, watching him or watching other parents react to him (ha ha).

I see more P&P in our near future as summer is winding down for us and we will be back in a structured routine soon. For now, we will continue to soak up the sun, ride bikes, fish, eat popsicles, swim, enjoy all our scheduled play dates and field trips.