Mommy, wow! I'm a Big Boy now!

Guess who tee-tee'd (sp?) on the potty last night?!?! I think I was so excited that I scared him when I screamed to tell Drew...he said "Mommy, you too loud!"

LaLa brought Benjamin big boy underwear today. I'm hoping we're really on the right track for this! Any suggestions for potty training boys are certainly welcomed here!

Of course, ME got to enjoy some new panties as well. Who would've ever thought that this would be an exciting thing? :)

ME's last day of daycare!

I don't know if I should be happy or sad.

Today was ME's last day of daycare. ME isn't quite understanding the fact that she won't be going back or probably won't see her classmates anymore, but she sure is excited about getting to stay home with me this summer as am I! One thing she's for sure about, though, is that Benjamin hasn't had his last day of school yet and he still has to go during the summer. I know that because she's been telling him that all week! Little does she know that I probably won't be sending him everyday or all day.

1st day of school 8.15.11

Last day of school 5.31.12

ME with one of her besties, Reagan, in class

ME with Miss Lynley

ME and Miss Kim
She had Miss Kim wrapped around her finger. I think Miss Kim would have bent over backwards for this little girl!

Last day in our brown house

Today was a bittersweet day...

Today was our last day in our "brown house" on Cedar Ridge. We sure are going to miss this house...

This was mine and Drew's first house.

This was the house that we had a fence built for our first dog, Dixie Sugarbaker.

Because of Dixie, we met fabulous neighbors because Dixie Doodle didn't much care for our fence.

This was the house that we brought BOTH of our precious babies home to.

Needless to say, we've created many memories in this house over the past 7 1/2 years!

We sure are going to miss it, but we sure are excited about what life has in store for our family of four in the future...wherever that is.

I've taken many pics on this front porch.

This was a new recent routine that we have developed...trying to call our neighbor's cat, Pearl, over to play with us.

I love the determination!

Yes! Victory!

ME insisted on me taking pics of them on their playground before we moved. So I did. :)

The location of the slide I will definitely NOT miss!

Benjamin nearly gave me a heart attack everytime he went down this slide because it was so close to the rocks!

Watch out Dancing with the Stars!

Today was a BIG day at the Dees household...ME's first dance recital!!! And to start the day off, in honor of Sarah Gilmore, we skipped church (I know that sounds bad) and rolled ME's hair.

Here's proof that I really tried to roll her hair...I even sprayed the heck out of it!!!

ME's attitude made me really nervous when we backstage getting ready for the recital. She was soooo not interested in putting on makeup (which is totally not like her any other day of the year, btw!), wearing her costume, or taking pics as you can see above.
However, coloring seemed to be on all of the dancers' minds.

ME: "Really, Mom? You have to take this pic now? I have some toloring to do!"

Although ME didn't seem like she was really up for performing today, she actually blew us all away when her class came out on stage! She performed better than she had ever done at any of the dance practices!!! I'm so glad considering she had another entourage show up, too! Thanks, SuSu and Big Ben for coming to see ME's debut!

And she loved getting to pose with all of her entourage members, too!

My favorite moment...getting her first dance flowers from her daddy!

Sweet 16-months

Benjamin is now 16 months old! He's a ball of energy, which means I constantly need energy myself and that Diet Coke has become my best friend throughout the day. Dear Lord, please don't ever stop making Diet Coke...Amen!

OK, back on track...what's going on in Benjamin's world?

I L-O-V-E that this was the first shot that I took tonight! The second I pointed the camera at him, it was like he does this everyday. Possible modeling career?

Benjamin hasn't met a stranger! He loves the word "bye" and will say it to anyone that walks by him along with a sweet little wave or squeal as if he's known them for a long time. His teachers say that he is so serious all day until he sees me walk in and he goes silly, crazy by waving his hands and squeal. Then the second I pick him up, he starts waving and saying "bye" to his teachers. Does he already hate school?

He has found his belly and is proud to show anyone that asks him where it is. The downfall, though, is ME wants to show you her belly, too. As for his other body parts, he knows that he's supposed to point to something on his head when you ask him, so he just points to his head for eyes, nose, and ears.



I may have already mentioned that Benjamin loves to climb on everything, so why would his Sissy's bed be an exception? Of course, ME doesn't think it's so funny! Check out all of her toys that he drug up to her bed.



  

 He can clearly say "truck" and "ball". We can't go ANYWHERE without him saying those two words. Just a side note, anything that's a circle might also be a ball.

Benjamin is starting to become a creature of habit. For example, his morning routine typically consists of him first going into our room to find Dixie and lay down with her, then he walks to the kitchen and points to the refrigerator and pantry for his breakfast (usually a breakfast bar and milk). I snapped this pic of them a few days ago watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.



Benjamin got written up at school for the first time. This makes me sad and laugh all at the same time! He's into pulling everyone's hair now and actually pulled another kid's hair OUT! That part makes me sad and ME is scared to be left alone with him now because of it and says "But he will might pull my hair out!". But the part that makes me laugh is what his report  (above) said. Needless to say, we have been saying "Nice hands, Benjamin" a lot in the Dees household recently! :(

Little man + lots of brains=15 months

Benjamin is now 15 months and just pure fun! He's into everything and never sits still! He constantly keeps me on my toes (literally!). We are so blessed to have him light up our lives everyday.

I took this right after bath time. Don't you just love the do?!?!



Take 2...I tried giving him a toy to distract him from the blocks and get him to smile. He chose to ride it. Hey, whatever works!

Stats:

Weight: 24 lbs. (43%)

Length: 31" (47%)

Head: 19.25" (91%)

Who knew that he's so short and doesn't weigh very much? My arms could beg to differ, though! Even though his head circumference is a little on the large side, he comes by it honest...just look at his family history of domes (me, Drew, and Dandy)!

• Loves to push or ride anything and everythins (as you can see from the picture above)
• Loves to try to put my socks on for me (I'm wondering if he has any of his sissy's OCD tendencies)
• Can take his clothes to his frog hamper
• Can throw away trash when you tell him to take something to the trash
• Still LOVES to eat anything and everything
• Likes to play basketball and tries really hard to throw the ball into his 5-foot goal
• Is starting to play hide-and-seek by hiding behind curtains
• He shhh's people
• Recognizes hot and what to do with it...blow it. Everytime he walks by the fireplace (lit or not), he points and says "ha" (hot)
• Has started brushing his teeth. Santa brought him a toothbrush and he brushed his hair the whole first week that he had it. Now that he's figured out that toothpaste is on the brush and it goes in his mouth, he throws a fit when you take the brush away from him!

Mary Elizabeth is growing like a rose

I took ME to her "brown doctor" for her 3-year-old checkup on the 28th. For the most part, we got a good report. I talked to the doctor about how she barely eats anything and some other things, so the doctor wanted to check her glucose level to test for diabetes. Talk about stress on a momma who waited about 30 minutes for the nurse to come do the test then hear the results. Ugh! Luckily, the result wasn't bad, but the doc told us to make sure we're getting in some fruits and veggies. Ha! Easier said than done when you have a child that basically doesn't eat anything but breakfast bars and a few bites of other things.

Stats:

• Weight: 35 lbs. (85%)
• Blood pressure: 94/50
• Length: 38" (74%)

Looking back at all of her pictures, I can't believe how much she's grown and how beautiful she's gotten! I also can't believe how many milestones she's accomplished in just a mere three years! I mean think about it...a little person that totally depends on you for everything to someone that has started exploring with their own independence (insert ME yelling "Leave me alone, mom!" or "Shut the door!").

1-day-old



1-year-old



2-years-old



3-years-old

Things that ME has been into over the past 6 months:

• Seeing how she loves art so much, she's very into describing things by the color (we live in a "brown house", we go to her "brown doctor" because the doctor's office is in a brown building).
• She talks non-stop! I definitely see the resemblance to her dad in this area..."word quota"!
• She's got an imagination like you wouldn't believe! We've thrown snowballs in the middle of the summer, we go to the"library" to get tons of books (the library is our bedroom and we don't have any books in our room), we take pretend kitties and doggies with us everywhere that usually ride on her back. I've even had to chase after an imaginary frog named "Louey, the Bluey Frog" while I was buckiling her into her carseat.
• She's so compassionate and already has goals set for her future! At least everyone in the family has been sick at one time or another this school year. When ME knows that one of us doesn't feel better, she says "Do you feel all better now, {insert name}?" She tries to make all of us better by giving us our medicine (for some reason she always wants to give Drew orange medicine) and gives us lots of kisses when we don't feel better. I think she's on the right track to being a great doctor! Plus, her initials are a great help, too!
• She's gotten into the Disney princesses and Peter Pan. At least twice a week, the four of  us have to play Peter Pan (ME is Peter Pan, Drew is "Cafferine Hoot", I am Tinkerbell, Benjamin is Smee, and Dixie is Nanna). Man, I sure wish I could figure out how to keep that darn crocodile out of our house. Ha! Do you sense a possible preview to the Dees family Halloween costume idea for 2011?
• She loves to dance. She's been going to danin' class this year. She talks about it all the time and knows what day she goes to dancin' class, but once we get there, you never know what kind of performance you're going to get from her. Sometimes she's really great a looking at herself in the mirror, other times she might be a great frog hopper, or really great at standing on her dance spot. Rectial should be interesting...cute, but insteresting! 
• She loves school and loves to play school. She's really learned a lot this year and gets along with all of her classmates. We receive a daily report sheet about her progress and very rarely do they fill out the bottom portion, but I was so proud of this comment that she got a few months ago. The girl loves her shapes almost as much as she loves color! If you'll notice she was the flag helper (her favorite helper job at school) that day, too, because she loves to say the Pledge of Allegiance! It's the cutest thing ever to hear her say it!

• She loves to sing, too. She's all about singing to her own beat. Whenever Benjamin is upset, she starts singing her favorite song, "Jesus Loves Me". She's really good at "re-mixing" classics, too. She likes to do a "rap" style to "Jesus Loves Me", "ABC's", and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider".
• When she asks for things politely, she says "May I want {insert object's name}, may I please?" How can you say no to those manners?

Remember the good 'ole days?

In honor of me and my friends being born in 1980 and turning 30 this year, we decided to have like a "Totally 80's Birthday Bash". Why did the 80's fashion ever leave?!?! I mean the hair, the music, and the clothes all rocked! Ha! Hope you enjoy your flashback from the pix below. ;)

I painted a graffiti sign for the party. I thought it looked WAY bigger at my house!
Why don't people still play Twister more often?

The bday cake matched the invite for me, Bracy, and Terri.

Terri and Bracy have a bday exactly one month apart from each other and the party was their gift to each other, and Drew went in on it for me. This was a great way to celebrate all of my friends turning 30 this year!

Like, totally rad!

{Drew, Me, Hank, Hollie, Ryan, and Ashley}

Aren't you jealous of mine and Ashley's crimped hair? When ME saw my hair, she said I needed to brush it and she said that my blue "tolor" (eye shadow) looked silly and I needed to wash my face.

I should totally plan these far out glasses into my wardrobe more often!

Dancing to some 80s tunes.

{Bracy, Drew, and Tyler} My fam joined in on the fun, too! Isn't this a great family portrait?Don't my brother and I look tubular?

Me, Terri, and baby Cross (inside her belly) had so much fun seeing all of the cool fashions!

I sure do miss the 80s, especially the mullet...NOT! When Benjamin saw Drew's wig, he "wigged out" himself and cried! Ha!