Horsin' Around

We live in the weirdest area. We're 8 minutes from 7 different Starbucks, 2 Targets, huge shopping centers, 3 Harris Teeters and yet to get there you have to drive through farms. Lots of cows, horses and donkeys which is PERFECT for kids! We are always on "moo" watch. In walking distance from my house is the cutest farm called Spittin' Pond Farm.

The Johnsons were so generous to allow our playgroup friends to visit the farm on Friday. They rescue horses, rehabilitate them and adopt them out. They also have donkeys, llamas, miniature horses and half of the kids favorite animal on the farm.... a cat.

The owner and her sweet. blind miniature horse

Beautiful dalmatian like horse

The aforementioned cat

The whole group

Parker and the sweetest donkey

Lily and Parker driving the tractor

Petting a Parker sized horse

The babies

We had a great time at the farm and ate lots of pizza and cupcakes afterward! A pretty fantastic Friday morning!!!

YeHaw Cowboy!

We had a WONDERFUL day last Sunday. Parker spent the night with nana and poppi and we met after church at a fall festival to have a little fun and exchange the kiddo. Who knew the Anne Springs Close Greenway was so beautiful and had so much to do!?! 

We went the weekend prior as well and Parker seemed really interested in the horses but we figured he was too young. Once again, he said he wanted to ride the horses so sure enough, he did! I was sure he would get close, realize how big they were and chicken out but he didn't!

He loved it! He continued to say "YeHaw Cowboy!"

He didn't want to get off! He actually rode a second time but that horse quit walking so they moved him to a new horse so technically, he rode 2 1/2 times haha.

 Since then, he's been a bit obsessed with being a Cowboy!

YeHaw Cowboy!

We went on a hayride, played on some tractors and had a perfect outdoorsy October day!

Nana and Avie Bug

Nana, Poppi, Parker and Avie

YUMMY cupcake!

On a hayride without hay... the best kind of hayride!

Sleepy Avery girl.

One more picture of that cute face!

Sweet boy!

I've made a point to go to EVERY pumpkin patch in our area and I only have 1 left! On Thursday, we'll visit Awshucks Farm with Parker's preschool class! Mission Accomplished! I LOVE FALL!

"Back to School...

...Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school." Thank you Billy Madison for that tid bit.

Big day today in the Wise household! Mr. Parker actually ASKED to go to school! The first day of school he was peeled off of me kicking and screaming and I left feeling like I was going to vomit until the second I picked him up. Now, one month later, he's LOVING it! He knows its a school day when I put his clothes on the same time I change his morning diaper. Today, I put his clothes on and he stood by the door wearing his backpack. PRECIOUS... except it wasn't time to leave yet. I finally got a "going to preschool and wearing my backpack" picture.... just a month and a half late!

Cheese! Ready for school!

Lovin' the backpack! Wildkin by Olive Kids, monogrammed by yours truly

Knock Knock! Ready to leave, mom!

Lately, Parker has been getting excellent daily progress reports. Today, it said "please work at home on not spitting." I was confused as I've never seen Parker spit so I asked him "Parker, did you spit at school today?" Sure enough, he said "Uh Huh" and spit (blew extra wet strawberries in the air). I'm 100% sure that Parker learned this from someone else in the class since the entire class got an email this afternoon about the kids testing the teachers today spitting and he's never done it before. But since he randomly started singing some of his ABCs today and he's officially counting to 5 (1,2,3,5... 4 is unimportant) which he learned in school, I'll take a little spitting!

We're loving school now! Parker enjoys the songs, reading and especially the painting! I enjoy running errands with only Avery (SO MUCH QUICKER!), giving her some special 1 on 1 snuggles, getting some sewing projects done and actually watching real life people on TV instead of animated ones! Note, cleaning wasn't anywhere on that list. All in all, it's been a wonderful experience for both of us and I'm glad we signed him up for school! :)

Camera Phone Photos

What did we do before camera phones? Don't get me wrong... I couldn't live without my SLR but it is SO nice to have a cell phone camera to whip out when you just MUST catch a moment! Here are some of this weeks moments completely out of order:

Parachute play at story time with Logan, Lily, Brooklyn and Piper :)

During story time, Avery was entrusted to babysit Jesse. Look how happy she looks!!!

A certain little Mr. has gotten very good at problem solving. He wanted something off the counter so he rearranged some furniture. It looks like I'll be doing some rearranging of my own... the knives will be finding a new home!

We were driving and I heard Parker yelling "CHEESE WOODY!" He likes me to take pictures of his toys then he goes through my phone later and talks to them. It does save me from dragging the entire cast of Toy Story all over town! :)

Avery modeling her new outfit. I was feeling crafty last night. She'll be modeling outfit #2 tomorrow. Such a girl... gotta wear the newest thing in her closet!

After a firm talking to about not standing on his picnic table, he opted for a box he discovered to retrieve snacks.

All of Parker's sleeping buddies have to say their prayers before bed except Buzz. His hands don't go together and thus, he is an atheist.

After hearing "I FLY" followed by a crash, I discovered Parker on his top bunk and the light kit from Parker's fan on the floor. AND thus... the cellophane over his steps. Buzz got his wings clipped!

And one last picture of slobbery cuteness. :)

L-O-V-E these muffins of mine!

I Am

While I was blogging, I found myself listening to a song that Kelly posted Friday. It's called "I Am" by Nicole Nordeman. The song is posted at the bottom of this post (make sure to turn off my blog music) God knew I needed to hear this today. It played the whole time I was writing my last post and only when I hit "publish" did I really listen to the lyrics. Man was it convicting.... and I needed it.

I'm going to be honest. I'm not the parent I want to be. If we're all honest with ourselves, most of us probably aren't. When Parker whines or Avery doesn't sleep I find myself getting frustrated... but very rarely praying. My children don't act any differently than James Dobson's or any other parenting expert but instead of asking God for wisdom, patience, understanding and grace, I just feel upset until something good happens that levels it out. Does that make sense? I feel like I'm wasting time being frustrated that I could be spending being happy.... giving it to God... extending grace.... disciplining in love instead of frustration... swinging...taking stroller rides.

This song convicted me of how QUICKLY my babies are growing up and what a role I'm playing in their lives despite their inability to tell me so. What a HUGE responsibility these precious children are! They truly are sponges that just soak up everything you say and do. I need to be better about leading by example. Loving through my actions. Building more forts. Practicing more flash cards. Singing more songs. Turning the TV off. Tickling on the floor more...even if it is covered in dog hair! I think it boils down to parenting with a purpose. I want my children to know and love the Lord, to be well rounded, happy, well behaved... and I need to be more intentional with my actions to accomplish those goals.

Lord, I thank you for bringing me to this song today. Thank you for my precious babies that you gifted me on this Earth. I pray you help Daniel and I shape them into Godly children and adults. Specifically, I pray for patience when I'm frustrated, discernment when I don't know what to do, wisdom to know I'm making the right decisions, and wise counsel and friends to walk this journey with. I ask for grace and the ability to give it to others, compassion and strength. Lord, thank you for being there for me even when I didn't reach out to you and attempted to do it all on my own. Thank you for the blessings of my husband and children and help me always see them as such. Amen. 

"Ah Ha" Moments, Tantrums and Poop

I have about 10 blog post in my mind to write. Ahh.... which to choose?! Hmm... I will try to cohesively combine a few.... first, some cuteness for you...

On Wednesday I got to preschool 30 minutes a bit early. I like to be 1st. Anywho, Avery was napping in the car seat and it was BEAUTIFUL outside so I rolled down the windows and took the day in. As cars pulled behind me, I counted 7 minivans and 5 SUVs all in a row and do you know what I realized? I am living EXACTLY the life I always dreamed of living. With the exception of being PTA president and my children being well behaved in public, my life is literally everything I dreamed of. 

That probably sounds snotty but let me back up. I had pretty simple dreams. I wanted:

1. to be a wife

2. to have kids

3. to have an SUV (although now I'd LOVE a Sienna! Man, do I feel old!)

4. specifically, boy 1st, girl 2nd

5. to be a stay at home mom

6. to be just shy of a helicopter mom and be VERY involved in their lives/school (including PTA president)

Cancer came close to taking a lot of that away from me but God is SOOO good and reigned victorious over that chapter in my life!

Maybe it's because October is my favorite month, or that I got to run errands sans tantrums, or the weather was just perfect.... but there in the car pool line I had a wonderful "ah ha" moment. I feel incredibly blessed. My life is what I dreamed it to be. There were times I had to fight for it to be and times God just worked it out Himself.  It isn't perfect but I feel so blessed to live it!

About that life isn't perfect part.... today, I left the mall in tears, covered in poop, with a crying, poop covered, 5 month old in my arms, a backpack on my back and dragging a screaming 2 year old behind me. It's my fault.... I went to the mall during nap time with 2 kids, without a stroller and without "bobby" (Parker's milk). 

We went to the Disney store to add to Parker's collection of small toy story plush dolls and to return shoes. He's gotten VERY into imaginary play and I like that these plush toys force Parker to talk for them and they don't hurt Avery when they randomly "fly" off the couch into her face. After I had checked out, Parker found a $99 Toy Story Snow Globe. Cue Tantrum. When I wouldn't buy said snow globe, he found a $24 bobble head that I also wouldn't buy. Cue even bigger tantrum. Pulling him up off the floor woke Avery up who started screaming and then pooped EVERYWHERE. So there we are in the mall... Avery is screaming and covered in poop. I am now covered in poop.... and Parker is rolling on the floor as people step around him. It was lovely. We walked the WHOLE length of the mall to get back to the car. Parker was more or less dragged as I don't think both feet were actually on the ground. I was livid, upset, embarrassed.... WHEW! Have you been there before? Please say yes so I don't feel so bad about it!?!

3 blow outs in 3 days! YUCK!

I stripped in the garage, aired the car out and immediately sanitized all of us!

Clean babies

Toes are tasty!

An hour later, you'd never know he had just been such a booger! Check out that FACE!!!!

Despite 15 AWFUL minutes today, the rest really was wonderful. That's not such a terrible ratio when you think about it like that but man does it seem world ending at the time! 

I hope this October you're able to walk outside and take in the beauty of nature, the vastness of God, the blessings in your life and changes on the horizon. I know I sure am! :)

I Touch a Truck

Today my mom called me and said (basically)  "Hey Taylor, there is a precious festival next to Bruster's Ice Cream! Why don't you bring the kids up?" AKA.... "I'm jonesing to see my babies and I'm bribing you to come with a festival that I swear Parker will love and an ice cream cone." So we went.... and the festival was over by the time we got there but Parker did still get to see a few boy things. The festival was called "I touch a truck" which is a really cute concept. They had police cars, fire trucks, tractors, dump trucks, a combine harvester (are you proud of me for knowing that?) that the kids could climb on... and a clown. Parker stayed a good 20 feet from the clown even though she seemed VERY friendly.

Since the festival was a bit of a bust, we headed to Bruster's to get some ice cream. Parker remembered that one time earlier this summer my mom bought him a Barney cookie sundae. Bless his heart, he walked straight up to Bruster's and told us his order. Smart little booger. I'm convinced he's smarter than I give him credit for. There was a boy scout pumpkin patch next to Bruster's so we ate our ice cream while perusing pumpkins. 

P-man and nanuts (Parker's new name for my mother. hehe)

Eating his Barney cookie while checking out the pumpkins

"Mommy buy?"

This shirt I recently made Parker was perfect for today's festivities!

Miss Avery was less than thrilled. :/

Parker loved putting his face in the hole! Hilarious.

Mommy and Parker

Avery and Parker

Highlight of the day: Parker, my mom and I were on the dock feeding fish (because the ducks weren't there) and randomly Parker starts skipping around the dock, holding his crotch, making a weird noise. FINALLY, we noticed he was holding a horse animal cracker pretending to ride it while making "naying" sounds. My heart MELTED! How cute is that?! I can't wait to get it on video! He did it again tonight at home with a plastic sheep about 1 inch big. There are days when this age is terribly hard but adorable moments like that make the tantrums on the floor at Target worth it!