Great Friends, Great Food, and Great Fellowship...

Tonight we went over to our friends, the Northcutt's house, for dinner. We had so much fun hanging out with them, the Morrisons, and the Greens. Having good couple friends is such a blessing for me and Michael. We are so thankful for the way God has blessed us in that area!

Our gracious hosts, Kim and Jamil Northcutt And this handsome little man, Kellen, is their 5 week old son. He snoozed the whole time we were there so I unfortunately didn't get to get my hands on him! He is so stinking cute!

Selah was in on the men's conversation!

Mia and Myla

They had so much fun playing with Myla's new sticker book. It was the second time they had played together today. We had breakfast with them and some other friends at Chick-Fil-A.

Two peas in a pod eating their chocolate chip cookies.

The men...Jim, Michael, Jamil and Allen

Kim and Tyler, the Morrison's newest addition.

Mitzi, Kim and Tyler

Selah was partied out by the time we left. She did so well!
Thanks again, Jamil and Kim, for having us! We had a blast and the food was delicious (Jamil was the chef)!

Completely Random...

This post is mainly just a bunch of pictures that I have had in my camera that just made their way onto my computer. There is really no rhyme or reason, so I will just explain the pictures as I go....

Selah is really starting to reach out and grab things and, of course, everything goes right into her mouth! It's nice for her to be able to entertain herself a little more though. She loves this caterpillar that she received as a gift. Myla always brings it to her to play with because she knows how much she likes it.
Happy girl with her caterpillar!!

Selah is such a happy baby, which I am very thankful for. It is easy to get smiles from her for pictures!

See??

Aunt Mary and Uncle Spencer sent Myla this "Cutie Boutique" makeup kit for her birthday, and let me just tell you...it was the perfect gift for this little girly girl. She has played and played with it. She loves putting on the body glitter, lotion and lipgloss, oh, and body spray!

Isn't that the cutest thing? It lights up and everything. I highly recommend this as a gift for little girls.

Another new milestone is we have starting bathing the girls together. Myla LOVES it, and Selah does too. She kicks back in that little chair and kicks and splashes and watches every move Myla makes. I can't believe how fast Selah is growing up!

This was the Sunday night after Myla had gotten back from New Orleans. Daddy was glad to have both of his girls together again!

Selah is not a huge fan of tummy time, but she is getting better. These pictures crack me up because her head looks so big compared to the rest of her body, but it really isn' t that big!

Another toy that Selah likes is the little singing bear that used to be Myla's. I love how she is looking at it in this picture. It's like she is thinking, "Excuse me, could I help you?"

Again, everything goes in her mouth!

Last week we went to the doctor for Myla's 3 year check up and Selah's 4 month check up. Thank to Lord Michael went with us because I don't know if I could have done it by myself. Myla had to be weighed, measured, have her blood pressure taken, tee tee in a cup, have her finger pricked, get examined, and get a shot...holy moly! The finger prick and shot was obviously the worst part, but we survived! In the picture above, Myla is trying to hold up 3 fingers to show me how old she is now.

Myla having her blood pressure taken. She looked perfectly healthy all the way around, Praise Jesus!! Her stats are...

33.2 lbs - 74%

38 inches tall - 73%

I didn't get any pictures of Selah unfortunately, but here are her stats just so I have them written down somewhere...

15 lbs 13 oz - 78%

25.5 inches long - 79%

41 cm head circumference - 38% (see, I told you her head wasn't that big)

Selah is definitely a little chunk! She is much bigger than I remember Myla being at this age. In fact, I looked back and Myla only weighed 20 lbs 13 oz when she was 1 year old. I think Selah will surpass her! Last Saturday I went to Batesville for a good friend's baby shower, so Daddy had the girls pretty much all day. He got a few good pictures, so I had to share them!

Myla has really started being so much more "involved" with Selah now that Selah can interact with her a little more. She likes to hold her and read her books, etc. And the sweetest thing is that if Myla is in the room, Selah doesn't take her eyes off of her. I love to watch her face while she is watching her big sister.

Sunday before church I had to get some pictures of Selah because I thought she looked like a little baby doll in her dress and bonnet.

So sweet...I love her so much!

Sweet smile

Oh, I could just eat her up!

This is one of Myla's new favorite pasttimes in the mornings. She likes to have Selah sit on the princess (dollar) couch and read her books. The thing I love most about it is that Selah just stares at her big sister like she is the best thing in the world. It is SO sweet!

Myla just reading away, but Selah gets a little distracted...

.... she just wanted to give Mommy a sweet smile!

Oh, it just melts my heart to see her look at Myla like this. One day last week, Myla was playing with Selah on the floor and she just stopped and looked up at me and said, "Mommy, Selah is my best friend." Oh, Myla, how I hope it stays that way!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

This was last night before bed. Selah was all smiles, so it was a great photo opportunity! I wish they were dressed in something cuter than their pj's, but, oh well, I'll take what I can get.

Myla took this pic...she was very proud of it!

Myla told me they were "playing" here. I'm not sure, but I love the way Myla is looking at her...

I thought this one was funny too....they were just loving on each other so much!

I just read back over this post and realized how many times I talked about the girls looking at each other...sorry! I guess it is just one of my favorite things at the moment!

Mystery Solved...

When we got Oskie almost 5 years ago, we had no idea what kind of dog he was. Our vet said his best guess was a mix between some type of shepherd dog and a chow. It's not really that big of a deal to know, but I was just always curious. Well, I was looking at blogs the other day, and I clicked on a random blog and when it came up, I about fell out of my chair. They had a dog that looked SO much like Oskie. I left her a comment asking what kind of dog she had, and she let me know that her dog was a Shiba Inu. She agreed to Oskie definitely looked like a Shiba Inu. I started looking on Google at this breed, and, although I don't think Oskie is pure bred, I believe he has a lot of Shiba in him. When I read the characteristics of a Shiba Inu, I laughed out loud because they fit Oskie to a "T". For instance... (I got these descriptions off of a website where a lady is describing her Shiba)

Get used to hearing, “He/She looks just like a fox!”. - We have heard this very phrase on many occassions. Oskie has been called everything from a fox to a wolf. Or people would say, "He looks like a wild animal."

A Shiba Inu is independent and very clean. My Shiba Sephy spends a fair amount of time not just grooming himself, but also helping to groom my Siberian Husky. - Osie keeps himself very clean and he is constantly "grooming" Tanner.

A Shiba Inu is extremely easy to potty train. - We never potty trained Oskie. The day we got him he would go to the backdoor to go outside to do his business.

Shiba Inus like having their humans around in the general vicinity. However, they are aloof like cats, and do not need or want human attention much of the time. - I laughed so hard at this because we have always talked about how Oskie is not a very "loving" dog. He doesn't require a lot of attention as far as petting and loving on him goes. Tanner on the other hand wouldn't mind if you petted him ALL day.

When there are strange people or strange noises around the house he will bark to alert you. - I always say that Oskie loves to bark at the wind. He will bark at anything...especially if there is a strange noise!

Shibas have great memory and will alert you to anything out of place around the house and even in a familiar neighborhood - This characteristic completely cracked me up as well because Oskie has always freaked out when anything is different or out of place. One time I got Oskie a new dog bed after the bottom of his was literally worn out (non existent) and he WOULD NOT get in it or near it. He growled and barked at it until I finally took it outside. I pulled his old one back out, and he climbed right in it. Another time, Michael has left his backpack by the couch one night (not where it normally is) and Oskie ran in the den and jumped up like he was scared to death when he saw that backpack. He knew it wasn't supposed to be there!

A Shiba Inu can learn many dog obedience commands and he can learn them very quickly. - Michael was able to teach Oskie many simple commands (sit, stay, speak, lay, etc) basically in just a few minutes. This always amazed us, but evidently it is common to his breed.

There are several other similar traits, but I won't bore you with them. I know it is likely that no one cares about this post, but I am just proud to know, finally, what kind of dog Oskie is. He was, after all, our first "baby".

Discipline...

To me, the hardest part about being a parent, is having to discipline. Myla is generally a very sweet, well mannered child, but other times, she is a whiny, selfish and hard-headed 3 year old. (My mom told me I am getting "paid back".) Anyway, we have tried many different forms of discipline, as I truly believe each child must be disciplined in the way that works best for them. The hardest part is figuring out what is best for your child. Nobody call child services or anything, but Michael and I believe in spanking, and Myla has had her fair share. However, spankings from me are not nearly as effective as spankings from Daddy (I think when a spanking comes from daddy, it hurts her feelings more!). So, I had to figure out something different.

When Myla was probably 15 to 18 months old (or maybe older, I can't remember), she started throwing "fits" where she would scream and cry and walk around whining. Well, for a stay at home mom that is with their child all day, this behavior becomes very frustrating! What I would do at that point was put her in her crib and let her cry until she was done, then I would get her out, and she would normally get happy again pretty quickly. She didn't like to be isolated. As she got older, she started having to go sit in her room in her pink chair when she was crying and she knew she could come out of her room when she was done. She even started putting herself in there when she was throwing a fit.

Well, time moved on and then she got verbal. She moved into saying things like, "I don't want to do that" or "Don't tell me that" or "Don't tell me no", etc., in a very sassy voice, mind you. I understand that she is just now 3, and a lot of this behavior is "normal" for her age, but I just didn't feel like her age is an excuse for disrespectful behavior. I feel like as her mom, it is one of my jobs to teach her to control her temper and her tongue. I don't have it completely figured out yet. Obvisously, I have a long way to go.

This brings me to my latest tactic. Earlier this week, Myla was having a hard time readjusting to being at home with "mean old" mom and dad after being with grandparents for 8 days straight. (I am not placing any blame on the grandparents. She was already having these issues before the vacation, but some behavior was just a bit escalated when she got home.) I knew we would have some issues, but she honestly just got crazy! On Tuesday I was at my wits end, and I knew that I had to get a handle on her behavior. I decided that I was going to start taking things away from her until she realized that all of her toys, movies, music, etc. are privileges and they could easily be taken away based on her behavior. So, after a meltdown, I took away her pink dogs, which if you know Myla, is something she HAS to have. She is completely attached to them all the time. This didn't solve the problem. The horrific behavior continued, so I went in her room, and I put almost every toy she owns in her closet. (see picture above) Of course, she DID NOT like this at all. I told her that the only thing she could play with was her books. Her attitude and behavior that afternoon was a world of difference to what it had been that morning! She has started to "earn" back some of her toys, but as soon as she starts to meltdown, something gets taken away again. She is smart, and I believe she will quickly believe that privileges and behavior go hand in hand.

I don't write this as an expert by any means, but I am just saying it worked for us (so far). I realize that she will have MANY more meltdowns over time! I know that parenting is so hard, and we can always use ideas from others. I actually read about taking things away from another blogger. I didn't mean for the post to get so long, but I just thought that maybe it could help some other desperate mommy out there!

All Aboard!!

Last Saturday the girls and I headed to New Orleans for vacation with Mimi and Bodie. We took the train from Greenwood to New Orleans, and it was a GREAT way to travel with children. No carseats or seatbelts, which to an almost 3 year old equals FREEDOM when traveling. After we boarded the train, Myla said, "Mimi, where is my seat belt?" My mom said, "We don't have to wear seatbelts on the train." To which Myla replied, "Well, I'm getting down then!!" She loved being able to move around and look outside. There were some shady characters on the upper level, but fortunately, most everyone looked very nice and we had no problems. We were in a car on the lower level, so there was no through traffic and it was pretty quiet and comfortable. These are the only pictures I have from the vacation because I decided to come home with Selah on Sunday. She is so young to have to try and go and do on vacation. I knew that we would just be holding everyone back trying to schedule around her naps, feedings, etc. And not to mention there was a heat advisory in New Orleans all week. I couldn't justify carrying her around all week in her carrier and stroller just so she could burn up and have no idea what was going on!!! I think that would have been a little unfair to her. Plus, she and I have had a wonderful, relaxing week at home, which has been nice. It was SO hard leaving Myla, but she has had a wonderful time with Mimi, Bodie and Henry. She gets home tonight, and I can't wait to see her!!!

Mimi, Myla and Bodie waiting on the train.
Myla and Bodie checking out the tracks
Myla decided to have a seat while we waited.
Here it comes!!! It was SUPER loud pulling into the station, and of course, Myla had a breakdown because it scared her to death. She was literally shaking, but she soon got over it and was fine.

Mimi and Myla on the train, ready to roll!

Checking out the view

Laughing at Bodie

It was a great trip for Selah too because there were plenty extra seats, so she was able to take wonderful naps swaddled up, with plenty of room! When she was awake, I got the Bumbo chair down so she could sit up and play. She was all smiles!

My two loves!!!

Myla finally fell asleep in Mimi's lap for a short nap before arriving in New Orleans.

Hopefully I can get the pictures off of my mom's camera from the week. She said they have had a ball and stayed busy everyday. They went to the Aquarium, the Zoo, the Children's Museum, the Insectarium, rode the ferry, shopped in the French Quarter, watched a parade on Bastille Day, and ate a lot of good food, just to name a few. I can't wait to see the pictures myself!

Birthday Celebrations Continue...

Friday afternoon after Myla got up from her nap she had more presents to open that had come in the mail from Papaw, Macy and Maggie! Of course, as soon as she saw them still sleepy eyed, she started tearing into them.

What could be in here?? Yay! Hair clippees!

And dress up clothes...her favorite! They also sent another dress up outfit with a big tutu that she wanted to put on immediately!

And...fingernail polish, or as she calls it, "polich". She LOVES to paint her fingernails and toenails, so Aunt Maggie knew exactly what to get her!

After that present opening, we headed to Batesville to celebrate her birthday with Sae Sae and Granddaddy. We did everything early since we were headed to New Orleans on Saturday for the week (which is another post for another time). Can you tell that Sae Sae loves balloons to celebrate a birthday! Can you tell that Myla loves them too!!!

Myla on her 3rd round of opening presents for the day. She is spoiled rotten!!

She loved her princess nightgown!

Chaos!!!

Sae Sae, Granddaddy and Myla - Myla is so bless to have wonderful grandparents on both sides that live so close!

Showing off her new bling!

Myla sitting in the birthday chair!! We had dinner on princess plates, which was quite appropriate. Sae Sae even caught her plate on fire in the microwave!!

Blowing out her candles again!

I think she enjoyed the blue icing the most!!

Cupcakes are "finger licking good"!

Happy girl with Sae Sae!