passing down traditions

today allie and i enjoyed decorating christmas cookies together. this was something that i did every year with my family and i just couldn't wait to pass this tradition on to her. she iced... and sprinkled... and licked.... and ate.... and giggled the whole time! here is a picture of her decorating and a pic of her creations too!

birthday party

we celebrated caleb's first birthday this weekend (a week early)... it was wonderful. caleb was in awe the whole time - truly excited that the whole day was about him. here is a quick pick of that cute face just after devouring his baseball cupcake!

loads of giggles

although allie gives us plenty of reasons to worry... we get lots of moments to laugh too! check out our latest funny moments! this was her entertainment while i got ready this morning!

**i realize that i haven't had many pics of caleb... i'm working on it, but w/ his new found walking trick and not feeling well it has been difficult!

a day of rest?

well, this sunday can not qualify as a day of rest (although i am currently the only awake in the house).

caleb is feeling better today. he has no fever and is eating really well. i think that being sick has set him back w/ his walking. for those that didn't know - caleb began walking on wednesday. however, today he is really shaky. we're hoping that by tomorrow he'll have his full strength back.

the real fun of this restless day came in the form of his big sister allie and all before 9am. while i was cleaning up breakfast, allie (who can now open any and all doors in our house) went into the bathroom and ate almost 1/4 of her toothpaste. while i was calling poison control and daddy was dealing w/ caleb, she pushed a stool up to the counter and got out a steak knife. upon grabbing the knife, she went into her typical squeal and tantrum. After calming down, we all went into the play room to play together. at some point caleb had an explosive diaper that lance and i were trying to conquer together. we soon realized that allie was gone and it was far too quiet. she had pushed the stool back to the counter and was licking the medicine bottle that i left out and open in the kitchen.

needless to say she was disciplined. oh my.... we have reached a whole new level of trouble. please pray for lance and i as we reexamine the safety of our home and learn to train allie the difference b/t safe and dangerous.

man, i'm tired... and we are only two years in??? hee,hee... thank you Lord for the energy for everyday. He never gives us more than we can handle.

a sad day at the siscos

caleb woke with 101 fever today. we haven't seen him this pale and lifeless in almost a year. it brought tears to my eyes while my mind flooded with memories of his first few weeks.

we got him to the doc this morning... dr. barrett's comment was, "boy, you are always into trouble in december." HA!! We found that he has a really bad ear infection and are now armed with some good antibiotics.

He's currently snuggled tight in his daddy's arms.... although we are sad that he is sick, it is nice to just hold him close. being sick seems to make our active kids
come to a complete stop.

the BEST way to spread christmas cheer...

is singing loud for all to hear.... OR dancing wild with no fear....

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! (SUPER EARLY)

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happy thanksgiving

allie and i did our first "arts and crafts" project yesterday. she put all the jewls on herself! we want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! May we all take the time to remember that the Lord has done great things (psalms 126:3) and be thankful!

it's potty time

we're having a POTTY PARTY!!! allie has had a big time training her doll, "phyllis" how to use the potty and wash her hands. we've been reading books, watching movies, and coloring all morning. we take phyllis to the potty every fifteen minutes and she gets a treat if she goes potty. the picture above is allie and phyllis celebrating this morning!

after her nap, allie will be done with diapers and using her big girl panties. life is EXCITING!! Way to go Allie!!! We are soo proud. (funny stories to come soon, i'm sure of it).

"on the road again..."

yep, you guessed it... lance is on his last fall trip. we are so supportive of what he does, but we miss him BAD when he's not here. if you think of it - say a prayer for him and his team. they'll be in Missouri till friday. and then say a prayer for those of us at home missing him! i've included a pic of two people that are CRAZY and missing him pretty bad...by the way, i miss him BAD too (no pic included, HA)!

we love you daddy... come home soon!

flower girl

allie got the flower girl dress in the mail from emily (or "emie" as allie likes to call her)... she was really excited. we all think she looks beautiful. of course she wouldn't smile, but at least she sat still so we could snap one quick picture.

two little monkeys

we went to the church carnival on sunday and took our two little monkeys. caleb looked cute and enjoyed being outside, but other than that had NO CLUE what was going on. Allie, on the other hand... played a few games and won some candy. each time she was allowed to pick a piece of candy she would choose a sucker. everytime that she saw one of her friends she would give them her candy. Before we even had dinner, she had only five pieces of candy left. After dinner she was completely juiced up and spent half an hour running circles around the storm drain... NO LIE! I finally convinced her to try the duck game again which ended with her left foot in the baby pool... bad idea mom! all in all, we had a great time and didn't have to bring much candy home!

goodness, grace, and LOTS of patience

i just thought that i'd share a little of my heart tonight. the lord has been sooo good to me. the majority of our family has been sick for almost a month... if it isn't one thing, it is another. this and many other factors sent me into a tailspin of selfpity. the largest of those factors being the behavior of both kids. allie is about to turn two (you can imagine the tantrums) and caleb is reaching a new level of opinions along with independence.

one morning in frustrated prayer, i asked the lord to show me just a tiny bit of change in my children...any thing that would show me that they were improving... growth! i so clearly heard him tell me that he was not growing them right now - he was growing me! after i caught my breath from such a radical thought, i smiled. it is in perserverance that people grow... without it we'd be the same.... so i press on with a grin, knowing that God, in his infinite wisdom is showering me with goodness, grace, and HOPEFULLY lots of patience.

Rose Parade

i didn't get to go to many parades as a kid and now i think i might know why. we took the kids to the rose parade in tyler on saturday... what an adventure. lance and i were pleasantly surprised that both our children were VERY interested until the last half hour. but just so you have a taste of what we experienced i'll give you a list...
1. a band
2. shriners
3. dogs
4. shriners
5. a band
6. girls on a float
7. shriners
8. antique tractors
9. shriners
10. clowns
11. shriners
12. girls on floats
13. shriners
14. a band
15. shriners
16. the queen (we think... )
17. street sweepers

LOTS OF FUN! WISH YOU WERE THERE!
NOTE: THE PICTURE IS OF THE STATE CHAMPION ORIENTAL BAND!????

pumpkin patch

this morning we loaded up and headed to the pumpkin patch! the kids had a great time playing in corn feed, chasing chickens, taking a hayride, and pickin' out pumpkins. allie liked the black chicken better than the pumpkins. lance asked if we could trade two pumpkins for the chicken... they said no. oh, well. we met our friends danny, kara, eli, and nate. the older kiddos (allie and eli) got filthy, but had a fantastic time. eli picked out his own little pumpkin and carried it around. we tried to help allie find one that she could carry, but OF COURSE she only wanted a BIG one! So we came home with a big one for Caleb and a HUGE one for allie. Got to love it! it was definitely time for a BIG nap when we got home.

always look both ways

sprinkler park

today i took the kids to the sprinkler park in tyler. allie never stopped running. she had a ball. i didn't realize that caleb would be able to sit and play too - so, poor kid didn't even have a swimsuit on. But, he crawled around and got wet. He didn't like the water spraying him in the eyes one bit! we met many of our friends there.... hank and landry, eli and nate, walker and miller, luke and maggie, and carlin. what fun! we may make it a weekly playdate!

a day of surprises... and not the fun kind!

i think that today's entry is more for therapy reasons than anyone else's need to know. So thanks for letting me spill all.... i took both kids to bible study this morning. Allie went kicking and screaming - which is not normal, but i assumed we were experiencing some almost two attitude. As we walked into her class she latched onto my leg with huge tears pouring down her cheeks. As i was trying to convince her that it would be fun and that that "dolly over there needs a stroller ride" caleb leaked liquid poop down my back side. i know, you're thinking a line of poop or a little spot. oh, no... not even close - it was more like a 9 inch puddle of poo.

so... what is a mom to do???
1. caleb took a bath in the church sink

2. he went back to his class in just a diaper (it just couldn't be a day that i had the extra change of clothes in the car)

3. i washed my shirt and put it back on wet

4. walk into bible study smelling something awful and apologized over and over

5. on the return drive home, all three of us cried at some point

we finally got home and i thought that the drama of the day was over, but sadly... no!

caleb crashed from exhaustion and i started making allie lunch. she was doing ok until she ate some pineapple. you would have thought that she lost a limb the way she started crying. upon examination, i realized that she had a penny sized sore on her tongue.

you guessed it... off to the doctor... where we got the news that she has a virus and there is no medication for the five sores in her mouth... just tylenol and TLC.

so there you have it! we are all worn out and hoping that allie sleeps through the night! His mercies are new every day! Thank goodness.

BIG BOY!!

caleb had his 9 month well check this week. he's doing great. weighed in at 17 lbs, 10 oz and was 29 and 1/2 inches long! the doc says he can eat anything he wants and can start milk in Nov. YEAH! grow, caleb, grow!

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the terrifying car seat

today we threw the kids into the car for the fourth weekend in a row. have you ever done that... been in the process of doing something, while you're thinking, "this could possibly bring life as we know it to a complete end!" They really were letting us know that they were NOT happy with this decision!

however, they settled and we seemed to get to Dallas rather quickly. We spent about half an hour in Stonebriar mall in Frisco. We went straight to the indoor playground. Between keeping an eye on Allie as she darted in and out of tunnels, changing two dirty diapers, and looking over to see caleb standing up with his pants around his ankles we had a pretty great time!

we were able to meet uncle kent and his girlfriend hannah (she's a sweetie) for lunch. we enjoyed a little cheesecake factory... which, i must say, is very kid friendly. who would have guessed... they bring you a child plate with bread and sliced banana for free before you even order. THANK YOU cheesecake factory!

All in all, our six hour trip to Dallas and back was a wonderful. but i think we will take a break from the car for awhile... well, the kids and i will... i guess dad has to start recruiting soon... BOO!

controlled chaos

today would be the day that i begin something like this! you know... the day that our daughter bit my arm and my son cried at every moment unless i was pouring cheerios into his mouth!

although my friend, ashley, gave me this GREAT idea to create a blog... i have to be honest and say that the real reason i'm finally getting started is because i would rather not do the dishes in the sink or fold the laundry on my bed. this just sounds more fun. i hope that our blog spot will help keep YOU, our family and friends, well up to date on all the latest happenings of the kiddos and the occasional moment that lance and i are to do anything noteworthy.

there seem to be new things happening every 10 minutes when it comes to allie and caleb. i guess that is what happens when you have two children under the age of two! what were we thinking? (i will spare you from answering that question).