So, here I am yet again thinking about what a slacker I am, but then again, this week has been a crazy one.
Monday: Not to terribly exciting. Took the boys to school, then Lily. Followed by grocery shopping and house work.
Tuesday: I had breakfast with my sweet Sala in the morning. Todd and I went over to have lunch with Adam at school because it was "Book Fair" week and each grade had a day to invite their parents to come have lunch with then in the yummy cafeteria and afterwards, hang out and look at books and possibly purchase a few. All of that was so fun. I love hanging out with my little man and seeing his sweet face. Anyway, then, later that afternoon, Arlene and I went out for a belated birthday dinner and got to have a grown up meal that was hot, on my plate, I didn't have to share. Then Arleney and I came back to my house and hung out for a few minutes while Todd and Spencer went to Taekwondo. Lily's eyes looks suspiciously pink earlier in the day so, I called her pediatrician who called in some eye drops for her. (Pinkeye rocks.) However, no dance class. She did declare her undying devotion for a young man she has decide is 'the one'. She was going to go to school and tell him they were going to get married after college. (We pound 'marriage after college' into our kids' heads like you wouldn't believe.) Hopefully he understands this and they will live happily ever after. (Why is she so boy crazy at 4?)
Wednesday: I helped out in the Library in the morning. Had another lunch with my sweet Adam and helped out in the Library again at lunch time. Adam is such a sweet boy :) I know there was 100 other things we did I just can't remember.
Thursday: I had breakfast with Sala again (yes, it's a habit) but we invited our friend Misty. We had a ball giggling and sharing stories about our babies. Then around lunch time, Todd and I grabbed Spencer from school (Adam wanted to go to our neighbors house after school instead of skipping a few hours and coming with us) and headed to Evanston. While in Evanston, we got my Driver's License renewed, groceries, lunch and then came the sad, sad trip to the Pediatrician's office. I love our pediatrician. She is just a fabulous Doctor. Lily and Sara were both due for their immunizations. Lily needed her Kindergarten shots, even though we don't send our kids to school until they are 6, she will be 5 in June and can have the shot anytime after they are 4, so we had them done. And sweet Sara needed her 12-15 month shots. Because I am a looser Mom and got a little bit behind with them. Anyway, Lily is 4 and lets say 3/4. She weighs 41 lbs. and is 3 ft. 3 in. tall. She is in the 50th percentile for weight (YAY!) and 10th for height (Really, does she even have a chance here). Sara 18 months and is 21 lbs. 14 oz. and is 2 ft. 6.5 in. long. She is in the 10th percentile for weight (what?) and the 50th percentile for height (again, what?). The girls looked healthy. Sara immediately showed Dr. DePalma how strong her lungs were by crying loudly from the moment she was weighed until we were leaving the office. Lily was very brave and didn't cry through 3 shots. That is until, she got the 4th, nasty MMR shot. But still she was brave and earned her new Barbie Thumbelina movie and proof of valor and honor. Lily has some dry patches of skin on her (imagine that, MY baby has sensitive skin?) but other than that, she was great. Just sad, and then happy because she got a Ariel band aide. Sweet Sara Rose, the baby with the great memory, screamed her face off. But her lungs were great, ears, teeth and whatever else the Dr. was feeling for, was healthy and fabulous. I swear I leave the Dr. office after immunizations feeling like I had cried for hours. I am just emotionally exhausted. I needed a Starbucks run, with a double shot and the girls earned their ice cream cone. (Spencer did too, for being the wonderful big brother that he is.) And Todd, being the ever wonderful Daddy that he is definitely earned his diet Coke. A quick shout out to Barb for the gift certificate to Starbucks, that was the birthday present EVER! Anyway, when Todd and I got home from Evanston, we feed the kids and Todd went to get his mother so he and I could go out on a quick date for my belated birthday dinner. Todd's Mom offered to keep the kids so we could go out. I was pleasantly surprised and happy. We also bribed Spencer with some extra video game time with his Daddy, if he would help with Sara. To which he eagerly accepted and excelled at. Dinner was yummy and the kids were in one piece when we got home.
Friday: Parent Teacher Conference. Spencer's report card were all 'Advanced' except for P.E. and he was proficient in that. Mr. Argyle said that he has really, really done well in math. One of his best students. Seriously had nothing but praise for my big man. Spencer has really taken off with his math stuff. He will sit at home for hours making up him own 'problems' and figuring them out. I have even caught him calculating on his cell phone, under his covers when he is supposed to be asleep. To which I had to come tell Todd that our child wasn't normal and something needed to be done about it. Mr. Argyle told us that this class was a great class. Full of kids who get off the bus ready to learn. That was cool. Adam's teacher, Mrs. Hickey also adores my other little man. He was proficient in everything. He is reading a little above his grade level and is great with patterns. She also said that everyone who meets him, loves him. He is funny and witty. She loves his personality and told us we were blessed to have such a great kid and kids. The only thing he needs help on is returning his reading book completed, to which I replied that he always returns his books completed. It may take him weeks to remember to return them, but they are done :) She also said that he is in a great class of kids. Anyway. He is doing great. Life is good. We did make a stop at the library to grab the books the kids had picked out through the week. We bought a whole bunch of easy reader books for Adam and of course a superhero book, a book about Vampires for Spencer, Lily got a fairies book and Sara got a few hard cover books about puppies (she calls them "Pup-pup dare") and we come home and just kind of hung out, played Scrabble with Spencer and played with the kiddo's.
Saturday: We woke up to about 18 inches of fabulous snow. One of the biggest storms we have had all winter. The boys played a really funny game with Todd called Curses and in the afternoon, he laid down, the kids played and I had a headache. Todd left for a 5 day graveyard set.
Sunday: My sweet neighbor Melynda came over to hang out with me and let our babies play. We both needed some grown up conversation. And the kids really play well together. It was a great day :)
Well, that was my week in review. I swear there are days where I don't think I can fit one more thing into our schedule and this was a whole week of those days. But I love it, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the whole world.
I have to say, I was happy today came. Not that I don't adore my family, but I function better when we are sticking to a pretty strict schedule. The last 2 weeks were filled with a whole lotta nothing. Including a schedule. My kids were almost always in bed by 8:30 but would stay up listening to their iPods or playing a video game. And I just let them. So last night, we when back to no iPods or video games and all the kids were in bed by 8:00 and asleep by 8:30. Todd and I were even in bed really early. It was so nice. This morning, the kids and I saw Val off to school. She is in her 3rd semester at BYU Idaho and doing well. We miss her terribly when she is gone, but I know she is going to do amazing things after she graduates :) We are so proud of you honey :) 
And while we were getting back to our normal routine, Sara was also keeping busy. While I was cleaning my bathroom this morning, Sara thought she should paint herself with peanut butter. And might I say, she did a great job! It was all up and down her legs and pants. There was also some on her shirt, face and a glob on the floor. When I came out and saw what she had done, I said "Sara Rose, what are you doing?" She just smiled sweetly and said " Want pu-bu, Mommy!" That is peanut butter in Sara speak. 
Now, I am getting a little concerned because she has inherited a lovely Bates' trait. An addiction to peanut butter. As you can see, there are Drama Mama meltdowns when the request for peanut butter has been denied. Last night, I only allowed her 1 'peanut butter spoon'. O' My goodness. I swear to you, she was so mad at one point, I thought she was going to pass out from holding her breath during her crying fit. Good heavens! What a little stinker my Princess Peanut Butter is, good thing she's cute :)
My sweet little Sara is a sweet little cheese ball. I love when her hair in done up in piggy tails and today I had to put some big ol' honkin' flowers in her hair too. She looked so cute. She also insisted on wearing a dress and while it's not to cold yet, it's still and bit nippy outside. So, I dug out some cute tights and she she was ready to go for the day, spiffy hair do and all. Here's a picture of my friend Sala's little guy Kyzer. Sala and I get to go to breakfast frequently with our little ones while our older kids are at school. 
It's nice to have a grown up conversation with her in the middle of the day. It breaks up the monotony of Dora and Princess movies :) Anyway, Sara and Kyzer are buddies and I had to take a picture of them being silly little buggers. 
My tiny Princess is 20 months old. Every month, as she gets bigger, I think how fast she is growing up and it makes me so sad and yet she brings so much joy to our family. Her little cheesy grin or sweet jabbers just light up a room. We just love her. Well, and I dare say, she's going to give Adam a run for his money in the ham department. She is so silly and knows it. She's a delightful little monkey. Always making us giggle at something she is doing. She's also a little smarty pants. Although she isn't saying a lot of words, she understands most of what you say. She nods her head when she agrees and shakes her head no when she is protesting. She's a reading fool too. We read at least 10 books a day to that baby and she would read more if we let her. We have caught her many times just sitting on the floor, looking at books all by her sweet little self. She has become a master block builder and she loves Lily's little people toys and houses. Some of those little people have been around since Spencer was little. Sara also loves her babies. She snuggles them, kisses them and tries to feed them a bottle. She has recently taken up the art of streaking. And
shakes her booty like a mad woman whenever she hears music. We call it booty-shaka. I think Lily has taught her some crazy moves. Anyway, our little Princess is getting so big. We are enjoying her and are so lucky to get to raise this little dolly of ours. Todd and I are pretty dang lucky parents.
Most Friday nights we have a pizza and movie night. Well, tonight 
we decided on breakfast for dinner and Men in Black. What a great movie. 
The boys of course loved it. They giggled all the way through it. Lily was a little scared at times, but thought the bugs were really cool. Will Smith is such a Hottie McHotterton. Man I love him in this movie. Anyway, that didn't pertain to movie night at all, I just had to throw that out there. While the older kiddos were watching the movie, Sara set out (naked, cuz that's how a real explorer does it) in search of new things. She loves to take the bathroom stool around and climb up and see new things. I swear she's getting so big. Maybe a little to big. Tonight she was all over the place. First she had to check out what was in the sink. She is a little to short to really see what is in there but she can still feel around for cool 
things. Luckily, there was nothing in there but she was still looking. Then, after searching for cool things in the sink, she was off to the stove. Again, nothing there. That was boring. But still worth checking out. When she was done there, she was off to the next part of the counter. Dang it, still nothing. But man is she cute. I can not believe how busy my tiny baby is. Good heavens, she just doesn't slow down. There is just to many things to check out and get into. She makes me giggle everyday. I love what a little ham she has turned 
out to be. She is constantly doing something that cracks us up. She has a cheesy grin the she flashes frequently. She also has a sweet little eye flutter when she's realized that someone has noticed she is silly. She has also found a love of songs. We sing 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', 'Little Bunny Foo-Foo', 'Paddycake' and 'Baby Shark'. Baby shark is a song that Lily learned at school. And we sing non stop. She also LOVES 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga. Her little booty shaking just explodes. She just loves songs. Anyway, a Friday night at the Bates' is pretty interesting, it's full of awesome movies, sweet kiddo's and silly, busy babies. Life is Good.
So, here I am yet again thinking about what a slacker I am, but then again, this week has been a crazy one. 
Dinner at our house is so messy. Sweet little Sara Rose thinks that the best place for her dinner is on her head.
Or the floor, or the wall, or on Spencer. She not only dumps her plate on her head and makes sure it's completely 
rubbed into her hair, but she also throws her food all over the place. When she's done with her food, what ever is left on her tray is fair game to be tossed. She getting pretty good too. The other night she threw whatever she was eating on Spencer. He thought it was funny, all of us giggled, which caused her to throw even more food. She has also decided the best place for her dishes is also on the 
floor. She is really good with using a spoon and fork, but man how many broken Princess plates can we possibly endure:) Anyway, she has recently learned her famed Daddy's cheesy grin and shows it off without hesitation. I don't think Todd could be any prouder. So, there you have it...Cute pictures of my sweet baby being a total adorable mess and her beautiful grin. Dinner can be interesting, messy and completely and totally the best part of the day. (O' and she loves ranch....Homemade of course, with her veggies.. She even tries to lick it off her plate before she throws it on the floor. Man, she is so related to me.)
Happy Valentine's Day to me. What a wonderful husband I have. Seriously. I think I'm one lucky girl. These beautiful roses arrived late in the day on Saturday, while Todd and the kids were visiting Todd's mom. These kid, and I do say kid now cuz I am that old, came to the door and asked if I was Meelee. Well, no I am not, but I am Melea:) 
He then prceeded to hand me these beautiful roses. How stunning. I felt loved and adored this Valentine's Day. What a sweet lover I have. I think I might keep him forever.
In other Bates news, well, there just isn't much to report. We are still working on recovering from the sickies last week. Spencer is doing great. Sweet boy that he is. It kills me that he is so responsible and so wonderful, but Todd and I have recently had to have a talk with him about 'half assing' everything he does. It's a huge pet peeve of mine and one that seriously needed addressed with him. It wasn't a fun talk but he listened and has been doing a little bit better. I hate having to talk to him about his 'issues', because truly, he is an blessing to get to raise. And he gets the most remorseful look on his face and understands what we are talking to him about. Anyway, I think half assing things is a kids trait, and he will eventually grow out of it. Hopefully soon.
Adam, Adam, Adam. Words that I say daily. Sweet man. Adam has always had a huge imagination. Lately, he has been working really hard on creating stories and asking 100's of questions on 'what if' scenarios. Like "Mom, what if you could marry Justin Timberlake or Daddy? Who would you marry?" To which I always rely "Adam, Adam, Adam, I would marry your Daddy." These stories and questions don't just happen daily, they happen several times a day. And he is always talking, I mean always talking about an idea for a story or whatever is on is mind. Spencer gets so frustrated with him. I get frustrated with him, because there is NEVER a break. But I love his imagination and his sense of wonder. 
I thought this was an adorable picture of Todd and Lily. He is such a sweet Daddy. And Lily has him totally wrapped around her little fingers and piggies. Lily is doing great. The only thing that we are working on with her is her little bits of attitude. We are very careful with what the kids can and cannot say and do with regards to being respectful. Sometimes it's a face, sometimes it's words, but we do have to keep our little princess in check and try to teach her right from wrong while still allowing her to be herself and express her feelings. Sweet girl.
O' Sara. Sweet Sara. Busy Sara. Sweet Angel Lamb! I think I am going to find her hanging from the chandelier. In this picture she was helping Daddy tighten up the thingies on the end table. Sweet helper. She loves to follow us around, figuring out what we are doing and just how she can copy us. You know what, it doesn't take her long to figure it out. I think I have said this before but we believe that she is a genius:)
Sara Rose and her Daddy are best buds. His days off are filled with sword fights with curtain rods. Sara always wins of course. Although, I think Todd lets her win. He seems to end up on the 
floor with 'wounds' all the time. Sara immediately falls on him giggling, playing and so excited her Daddy is now able to be pounced on. Sara also loves to put on everyone's shoes. That's kinda funny because she NEVER keeps her own shoes on. Anyway, she found Daddy's shoes and was trying so hard to walk around the living room. 
Todd's days off are also filled with early mornings. As I have told you before, I am like a teenager in the morning, I HATE getting up. Todd, being the wonderful husband and even more wonderful Daddy, gets up with kids. Sara has always been an early riser. After her morning nursing session, she rolls over and says "Dada...Hi." Until he is up and holding her. It's so very sweet. 
In other Sara news. She colored on her face, kinda like lipstick, with a rogue pen she found laying around. She washed most of it off with a wash cloth the moment she was in tub, but I managed to take a quick picture before it was all gone. We love our sweet little adventurous baby, sword fights, shoe stealing, early mornings, drawing on her beautiful face and all.
Little Miss Sara Rose is 16 months old today. I missed her 15 month picture so I wanted to make sure I got it today. 
The picture above is from yesterday. She was up on the table 'helping' Lily color. What a sweet baby. Anyway, this morning after breakfast, Sara was covered in oatmeal. So I got her all naked and let her run around for a minute. This is an adorable picture of her booty. I couldn't help myself. She is so cute. And she loves to be naked. I think it's freeing after being in a diaper all day. Plus she can climb quicker and run faster without all of those restricting clothes on. She is seriously working on perfecting those two skills. I think she is going to succeed with all the hard work, time and effort she puts into it. Sweet baby.
There's a few new things that she is doing. She shakes her head yes when you ask her if she loves you. She says "Hi" and "Bye" really well and is using them how they are supposed to be used. She knows eyes, ears and especially nose, and constantly points to them. The biggy is, is that she tells me when she is poopy. We have decided that she is truly a genius. I know she's my baby, but I still think she is exceptionally bright. Isn't she lovely:)
