The Last Few Times I've Turned Around....

....I've found my sweet baby girl dressed up by her big sister and big brother!


Bow in her "hair"


Future ballerina!




That's a safari hat (thanks Tristan) and poncho!




....and fairy wings and a barbie jean dress! They were playing "christmas-time" in this one. Which meant having a pretend tree in the playroom and fake presents under it! How Lillian fit in, I'm not sure. But it was cute to turn around and see her crawling around like this - totally unaware of what she was wearing!

They are so creative and play so well together.........sometimes..... :-)

Just A Little Proof....

In response to my last post, here's just a little proof that my kids are sometimes, well, OUT OF CONTROL!!!!!!!





While I was preparing dinner, the kids decided to play in Olivia's room. He thought it was a grand idea to unroll the diaper pail trash bags.............from her closet to the den.

Their Minds are Truly Sponges

Kids can learn ANYTHING in no time when their little! Olivia just learned the sweetest poem by Cecil Frances Alexander in just a few short days at school! It's called "All Things Bright and Beautiful". I'm sure you've heard it.
She actually didn't know I was filming her - if she had known, she wouldn't have said it. She thought I was just holding the camera! :-) Oh, and please ignore the other kids squealing and talking in the background! ;-)




If she can learn this so easily, imagine how much scripture I can cram into her little head. She knows several memory verses already and we're working on Psalm 23 but I have a feeling I could push her even harder!

Now, if I could just get Landon on board - he's not quite as enthusiastic as Olivia is about learning - but he can launch a ball across the yard effortlessly! Boys.....

Technology Is So Cool!

Recently while visiting my church's homepage (Church of the Highlands) searching for an old message, I discovered that you could subscribe to Podcasts that were FREE and automatically downloaded into your itunes when there is a new one uploaded! Then, they automatically download into your ipod when you connect it to your computer.

You may ask why I think this is so cool. Ok, I have three little kids. There are some Sundays that you just don't make it. Whether it's because of sickness or you just couldn't "get it together" that day, who knows. But it's harder to have a 100% church attendance when you have small children. (Not that that is what is going to get you into heaven but I enjoy our church very much!) Then you have the Wednesday night services that start at 7:00 P.M.!! I'm usually brushing teeth and putting kids to bed around that time! Not to mention getting in bed myself around 8:00! (I know, I know...I used to make fun of people who went to bed that early!)

We always said that once we moved (we live very close to church) we'd start going to Wednesday night services! I mean, they're the better services anyways. It's where the meat is! :-) Then after having Lillian, well, that just made it even harder!

But the worst part, was that I felt so guilty not going! I knew I could listen to them on my computer, but I don't have time to hold my ear up to my tiny speaker for 45 minutes trying to take in such awesome words!

So when I found the podcasts, I was THRILLED! My ipod goes everywhere with me! I love to listen in the car when I'm drivin' my babies all over this town! It's actually the best time for me to listen to cd's or even talk on the phone! I just put a dvd on for the kids and it's peace and quiet! :-) I also listen to my ipod while walking, or even while the kids play outside! I love having a "portable pastor!"

Anyway, if you have an ipod and want some awesome messages check out the website and subscribe to the podcasts. Our pastor is doing and INCREDIBLE series on the Holy Spirit right now. I highly recommend this series. He's even been asked to write a book on the topics he is currently speaking on!

One more thing, you don't have to have an ipod to listen to the messages online. They have many multimedia options! You can even watch the service if you'd like!

Oh, and we have the BEST, FUNNIEST pastor ever! He is definitely anointed!

Will...Crawl...For....Food.....

Lillian's crawling!! We just had to dangle some food in front of her! :-)





Gonna really have to keep an eye on her now!

She Learns from the Best

This is the mess Lillian made in 3.5 seconds flat today!




It's a magazine that the kids were looking at on the floor. It was in a hundred little pieces after she got a hold of it! I can't say I'm surprised. Olivia and Landon are professional mess makers! Olivia is very talented at tearing paper into a million tiny pieces that I find all over her bedroom! Landon has mastered the art of leaving tiny little match cars ALL over the house for me to step on. Needless to say, Lillian has the highest qualified "teachers" demonstrating for her ALL day long! Like Robert says, they can tear up a room three times faster than you can clean it up!

Oh, and I had to fish half of it out of her mouth! Thank goodness it was only paper!

Still Dry!

Little update on Landon! He's doing GREAT!! He hasn't had an accident a about a week or so! Though right after I posted my last update on him, he had an accident at a park here in town. Of course, it was THE ONE time I didn't throw in a change of clothes!

So what did I do? Leave the park, you say? Nope. He was wearing only his red shirt, red keds (no socks) and a diaper! Do you think I was getting funny looks from the other moms? YOU BET! We had just gotten there and I hated to make him leave.


You can kind of see him here. At this point, I think he had also taken his shoes off!! Oh, and this was one of those 75 degree January days!

Since then, we've taught him how to "water the trees"! That's so he doesn't have to miss a moment playing outside at home!

Hop on over to my husband's blog to see what else Landon did outside!! I couldn't believe it when he told me the story!

Anyway, he's been so much easier to potty train - because I waited until HE was ready!! Thank GOD we only have one in diapers now! :-)

Sneaker!

My Landon must have gotten my sweet tooth! I find him with a chocolate covered face more often that I'd like! The other day, he came out of the kitchen to tell me something - but it was accompanied with a face full of chocolate. And this is the evidence he left.......


Some chocolate flavored almond bark missing from the pantry! He just dug into it! The kid definitely has an appreciation for chocolate!

The Gene Pool

As you can tell, Robert and I are complete opposites when it comes to our looks. He's dark hair, dark eyes, tan skin and I'm light eyes, lighter hair, lighter skin. So when Olivia was born, we were like, HELLO! definitely a "little Robert" - as in coloring. When Landon was born, we just figured he'd come out like Olivia. No......he had blonde hair, and blue eyes and lighter skin! People ask me all the time if they are related! One person even asked me, "Where is she (Olivia) from?" Like I had adopted her!!! (The things people say......I have truly heard it all)

Then Lillian came along and has light eyes, darker hair and medium skin! The gene pool is so funny! It makes me want to have another one just to see what we get next time! :-)

So, we're always trying to guess who looks like who - besides the obvious coloring of the kids. Like, I think Landon looks just like Robert but with my coloring.

I found some baby pictures of Robert and I!! What do you think??





I think Lillian looks just like me! ;-) Especially that top one. But notice my birth mark on my forehead - Olivia has the EXACT same one!

The picture of Robert is around 4 months. It's the only baby picture of him because there was a fire that claimed many of their early photos! :-(

I love comparing old photos! My mom did scrapbooks of us up until we were 18 - then she said she was done and it was up to us to keep them up! But I'm so grateful that I have the memories to look back on!

Lillian's 6th Month Appointment!

Lillian had her 6th month appointment yesterday - even though she's 7 months on Saturday. Oh well, I haven't been quite as on top of it with her appointments like I should. I guess sometimes I don't enjoy paying money for them to tell me my baby is growing on track. I can tell she's doing just fine. But it's good to stay up with it all!

She weighed 14 lbs 9 oz. She was 25% (whatever that means!) But since she' s closer to 7 months she's probably even lower. She's also 26 inches long! :-)

I really enjoy looking back at where Olivia and Landon were at this age. Olivia was 16 lbs 6 oz and 26.5 inches long! Landon was 16 lbs 12 oz and 27 inches long! Isn't it funny how different they all are!

For those of you who know Lillian, she's a very, well, 'bouncy' little thing for lack of a better word. When the doctor walked in, she was doing her usual bouncing and grabbing everything in sight! She said, "Well, I can see that she probably just burns it all off!" - I guess talking about how little she was. But she's growing just fine. Our doctor said she'd probably be walking before the next appointment. Well, seeing that she's scooting around pretty good these days, I might have to agree!




Pictures of the kids around the same ages! SO DIFFERENT!

Treehouse PART 3

Robert got a lot more done last weekend. He even managed to attach the monkey bars - which I wasn't expecting to happen in phase one. But hey, I love it!



He's going to paint it the same color as the house. I guess to help the wood hold up and "treat" it. We have some swings that will also hang from the monkey bars! He was debating on whether or not to put a roof on it...but I don't know. What do you think?

He just wants to make it the coolest place EVER to hang out. He thinks a roof would give it just a little more "cool factor" to it. We'll just have to wait and see!

The kids helped a little......

I'm Just a Tummy Baby MOM!

Lillian is definitely LOVING her tummy still. I'm still dumbfounded that I haven't tried putting her on her tummy until now!



If you're wondering, no, that is not her crib she's sleeping in. That's our bed - but ONLY for nap. I have a huge thing against kids sleeping in our bed with us but I won't go there now. :-) This poor baby plays musical beds during the day and night. Pack in play at night (still working her into Olivia's room) and her crib for morning nap and our bed for afternoon nap. And don't worry (MOM) she isn't going to roll off. Half the time I'm in bed napping with her and if not, I constantly check on her. Plus, she let's me know she's woken up pretty fast. Oh, and I pile tons and tons of things around her. But she's not really a roly poly, if you know what I mean.

The only thing is, this isn't going to work forever. Or for another 6 months for that matter. I just can't really put it together in my head how it's to work out. Olivia still takes a good afternoon nap most days and I don't want any kids waking each other up. I guess I'm just not willing to give up my only alone time in the afternoon. WHICH I CHERISH!!! There is something about being "alone" in my own home that is really nice.

Rejoice With Me!

I'm just waking up from my first very full night's sleep in a LONG time. I don't know why it's been so hard to get her to sleep through the night. But I gave some advice to a friend to try putting her baby asleep on his stomach! Ok, why I haven't followed my own advice, I don't know.

So being a whit's end about lack of sleep and Lillian not sleeping through the night, I lay her tummy down last night.

AND FOUND HER TUMMY DOWN THIS MORNING. Not one peep out of her all night. I've just never had a tummy sleeping baby before! I guess there's a first for everything.

THANK YOU LORD!!

Could ANYTHING Else Go Wrong???????

It's a nice, beautiful, calm Saturday. Yes, in a perfect world. But this is the McClellan household!! Let me set this up a little.

The kids are playing gleefully outside while Robert builds the tree house. The mother (i.e. ME) is joyfully preparing a dinner of grilled chicken and roasted potatoes! The baby is happily bouncing in the johnny jump-up, gumming Cheerios, while watching mommy prepare dinner. Perfect scene...RIGHT??!! So I'm peeling the potatoes into the sink. No biggie! I like to clean up as I go..running the disposal and cleaning the sink and counters off. I've started the grill and oven to get everything going in sync so that it all comes out at the same time!!

Robert returns from downstairs a little peeved and says, "I'm a little concerned - the disposal just ran all into the GARAGE!!" and opens up the cabinets under the sink. From where I'm sitting, all I see is remains of idaho and sweet potato skins splattered all over the inside of the doors and cabinet. Ok, so it leaked a little and we need to clean it up. YEAH RIGHT!!

Robert gets under there and tries to figure out what's causing the disaster. He runs the water and it stops up. He turns on the disposal.........................EVERYTHING SPEWS OUT AT HIM!! So much that he has to SPIT into the sink afterwards to remove the liquid that made it INTO HIS MOUTH from under the sink!!! Not to mention his was SOAKING wet!!

Ok, he was NOT happy. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but giggle a little. We had 2 choices, laugh or get really P*SSED!! And I chose to laugh.

So we pull out everything from underneath the sink.


I'm trying to do whatever I can to help Robert. Needless to say, I wasn't paying enough attention to what the older 2 kids were doing. UNTIL..........

DUN.......DUN..........DUN........

I hear glass break....WHAT THE !?!*?!*?!?*!?!

Landon "mistaken" a LIGHT BULB for a BASEBALL.......uh, OKAY!?!?!?!? He THREW it across the den!!! You tell me...do they look the same??


Ok, so maybe a little.....BUT, this is the mess it made. Where he found the spare light bulb, I'll never know.


I sent the kids to sit on the couch until I can clean it up.


Notice their TOTALLY GUILTY faces - yeah, caught ya' in the act, huh, you little sneakers!!! So I'm vacuuming up the glass after I sweep it and guess what.....I BLOW 2 FUSES out downstairs! Good NIGHT!! So I run downstairs, flip them back on, and continue to clean up the glass. Poor Robert has everything cleaned up and fixed in the kitchen by the time I clean up the other mess.

Then I go and check on the chicken on the grill and realize the gas has run out. So I have to pull half cooked chicken off the grill and throw it in the oven to finish cooking!!!

You've got to be kidding me!!

People, this all happened within SEVEN minutes!!! It happened all so fast I'm not sure we could have taken another 'blow' to the evening! It was just one crazy thing after another!

But once everything was cleaned up, we finally got everyone fed, pajamas on, and IN BED!

Hallelujah, AMEN!!!

Just another "normal" weekend at our house!! :-)

Special Night

Last week, Olivia received a special invitation to spent the night with her GREAT grand parents! (My mom's mom!) It's a big deal because I know my Sugar wanted to have her spend the night eventually, but wanted her to be old enough.

Sugar, my grandmother, came and got her after nap time. Olivia packed her bag with pajamas and other things she wanted to take!

They baked cookies, ate dinner, opened more Christmas presents, read books, and got to take a "special" bath. My sister and I have fun memories of taking baths at Sugar's house in the big bathtub. It's a jacuzzi tub and we loved to put bubbles in it and turn the jets on!!

Olivia LOVED it!



She also got to sleep in Sugar's king size bed with her! They kicked BB (my grandfather) out!! hehehe Sugar said it took her a while to go to sleep! Olivia at one point looked at the clock and said, "It says 9-5-5...what does that mean?" Sugar said, "That means it's almost 10:00 and time to go to BED!!!" Olivia thought it was 'so cool' to stay up late!

I'm glad she will have these memories with her great grand parents like I do from when I was her age! They are true examples to all of our family of a godly couple!! We love them very much!

Treehouse PART 2

This weather has been so crazy lately that it's been hard for Robert to get out and really work on it like he'd like. But, this past weekend he got some more time to devote to the treehouse. It now has a complete floor and one wall! :-)

It's going to be more like a "fort" or a "clubhouse". He's also hoping to add on a "swingset" addition with monkey bars and a swing.


He has his work light going and worked a little past dark! It's lookin' good!! I can't wait until it's finished. Probably just in time for SPRING WEATHER...or wait, wasn't it 72 degrees yesterday?! Figures...we'll probably have "Winter Storm '08" in April! ha

Startin' them Early

Landon got a football uniform for Christmas....we're talking shoulder pads, helmet, pants and jersey! We had a little fun with the helmet last night! :-)




Here's a little video clip.




For those of you who don't know Robert well, he is TOTALLY kidding when he's "yelling" at Landon. Here's how the next one went. I made him tell Landon he loves him this time...after "yelling" at him.





I think Robert was having flashbacks from high school football days! Get 'em ready YOUNG!!




Just another hum drum evening in the McClellan household!!!

Adventures in Pottytraining!

Yes, I know you are all DYING to know how Landon's potty training is going - but it's what's going on in my world right now. hehehe Well, here's an update. It kinda went out the door over the holidays. I should have thought about that but I think I was too excited about the fact that the light bulbs were going off in his head about going to the potty! So, we put things on hold while we traveled.

BUT, as soon as we got back into the swing of things at home, we went ahead full blast again!! Potty training is a funny thing. We all ask around to all the other mothers and compare the ages of our children when they were potty trained. BUT, every child is SO different!! And then BOYS vs. GIRLS...again very different.

Robert was getting a little frustrated with Landon in the last couple of months saying that the boy really needs to start going IN the potty. I kept saying, it'll come, be patient, he's just not there yet. I was also encouraged by one friend that said, "One day, he'll just get it...and he'll be just fine!"

Well, I think Landon's been easier that Olivia. I waited until I got 'that sign' that he was ready. It wasn't just one thing. I think I just knew.

And he's been doing GREAT. Very few accidents - it's to be expected - but most of them are right in front of the potty. He's also started going to the bathroom by himself. He jumped OUT of the bath tub soaking wet tonight to go.....achmmm....#2 on the potty! And the thing is, I wasn't even IN the bathroom at that exact time - I had gone to pick up Lillian and was only gone 1/2 a second! Just just jumped out on his own!

He still wears a diaper at night, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get! Oh, and he stayed dry at church today too! That's a huge deal!

I'm so proud of him! He's doing so well!

Oh, and even though he's going to the potty, he still manages to get "it" (and by "it" I mean 1 and 2) EVERYWHERE!!! This baffles me....but I'm hoping it's "just a boy thing".

I just realized I dedicated a whole post to going to the bathroom. For those of you who don't have kids, I apologize. One day you'll understand! :-)

She's Gonna Be a Tough One

That's her sounding like a kitty cat - that high pitched squeal! Then, of course, Landon can't stand it that he's not involved too so he jumps in! This little girl has a crazy life ahead of her in this family!

Christmas Morning

This is kind of long but I wanted to post this for our out of town family! It's a 5 minute video of the kids reactions Christmas morning!



Landon's reaction was much better this year. He had no idea what was going on last year! And I love it how Olivia goes through Landon's things before she looks at her own....I wonder who she got that from???.....:-)

Robert's Blogging Again!

My wonderful husband has resolved to blog more this year! I'm very excited because he has a way with words! He is a wonderful writer and I always LOVE reading what's on his mind.

He quit for a while so check him out again!

The Southern Fried Accountant

More Fireworks!

Here's a video of the kids watching a firework go off! They are mesmerized! Landon was so scared of them last year. This year he kept saying, "FIRE, FIRE!" I think the "boy" in him is kicking in a full speed!
I was hesitant for Robert to get anything more than sparklers at the fireworks store (plus they're expensive!!!!), but after seeing how much fun everything was, we might have to stock up for next year!

New Year's Eve

We got together with some friends to cook out and shoot a few fireworks!! The kids LOVED it and weren't scared this year.


Sparklers!!!


Grace and Landon with their sparklers!


A tank fire cracker!


A smoke bomb - there were many colors!


Robert lighting something...


The amazement!

WOW COOL!!!

We didn't see the ball drop but we did enjoy some New Year's Eve fun! Of course, Olivia kept thinking we were going to go watch fireworks on golf course like the 4th of July....no darlin' wrong holiday! :-)


I can't wait to see what 2008 holds for us! My prayer is that we continue to follow God's plan for our family, grow closer to Him and stronger as a family! Blessings to everyone!