New tricks

Cohen starts pre-k just a few days after he turns four. He has been working all year on buckling and unbuckling himself in his car seat in preparation for school. I know this sounds like some easy task, but I have never wanted my kids to buckle or unbuckle themselves. I wanted them to be as safe as possible. They understand that they must be properly buckled at all times in the vehicle. Well, when Chyenne turned four, I started working with her on buckling and unbuckling, so by the time she started pre-k (which was four months later), she could buckle and unbuckle, making for smoother drop-offs and pick-ups.

Cohen has been trying his hardest. He can buckle his top buckle always. He can rarely buckle his bottom buckles. He could NOT unbuckle.

Until Friday! Woohoo! Way to go buddy! He tried so hard.


He got the top pretty easily.

The bottom? it was tough. He pushed and pulled and grunted.

And POP! One buckle came loose.

He was sooooo excited and soooo proud of himself. Look at that sweet face! He did not think he could do it. He tried and tried and he did it!

I told him to try again to get the second bottom buckle loose. He looked at me like I was crazy.

But he got it! For his troubles and success, he earned one dollar!

I am so proud of you buddy. Always remember that even though things are difficult or may seem impossible, always try your best. If you fail, try harder. You will do great things, little man. Mommy is sure of it!

A Great Visit With Grandpa

For as long as I can remember, my grandpa was the strongest man I knew. He's an Air Force Veteran. He, at almost 75 years old, still does push ups daily. He rides a motorcycle everywhere he goes. He has tattoos. He is smart, really smart. He never sits down. Well, my daddy told me that my grandpa was having some medical issues (he has COPD) and that he was frequenting the V.A. Clinic a lot more. So, we made a surprise trip to visit him. It's a good, long drive from our house, but he is ALWAYS the one who commutes to us. He moved to Lake Hartwell about 9 years ago and this is the first time I have been to his place. He comes for every birthday, every holiday, and anything else that is important to us. I'm going to make a habit of going to see him more.



I talked the hubby into driving. ;)

 

Chyenne slept some of the way, then was a giggly girl before we got there.

 

Check out this view. I'm a country girl at heart. Oh I love this.

 

Cohen also slept much of the way, but he was all smiles when he woke up too.

Both of my parents drove up there too. That was nice. Here is Cohen with my dad, his papa.

 

And grandpa. Who has lost a lot of weight and a lot of muscle tone. It really broke my heart. Never, in all of my life, has he ever, looked old to me. He did this day. We pulled up, he stood up from his garden picking and grinned ear from ear. I have never seen a smile so big on his face. Even when he held Cohen for the first time, and boy was he proud of that!

 

The kids loved pretending to sail on Grandpa's (their great-grandpa's) sail boat. I hope he can take it out on the lake soon.

 

We decided to all drive up to the lake for a picnic. It was such a nice day. Cloudy, breezy, fun.

 

Below is my grandpa and my dad. Making funny faces while chatting. My grandpa has never looked so small next to him.

 

My girl. She's the sweetest. She loved walking in the lake. Btw, Lake Hartwell is clean. Really clean. I loved it.

 

 

She is brave too. Very brave. She is also getting better at balancing.

 

Cohen loved the water too. He spent so much time making his area muddy.

 

It was so serene.

 

The kids wanted Grandpa to help them climb trees. He did. But I could tell he wasn't really up for the task. My kids are both a little over 40 lbs. The Grandpa I grew up loving would not have a problem with that, but the same Grandpa we visited today did.

 

Cohen is the cutest. He knows it too. He did end up falling into the water, soaking his undies and shorts. Sweet boy.

 

Cohen, making muscles with Grandpa.

 

Grandpa kept commenting on how strong Cohen is. Cohen ate it up. He loves being told he is big and strong. The Grandpa I grew up with would laugh when I would call myself strong and then he would proceed to put me on his back while he did one-handed push ups.

 

Grandpa has such a great love for my babies. He adores Chyenne. He comments on how smart she is and how pretty she is. He is so proud of her. He kept asking her random math equations. She got them right every time. He even asked her what 120-90-30+20 was and she answered correctly. He was blown away at her smarts.

 

A picture of 4 Generations of the Warner family. My daddy, me, my Grandpa and my babies. I'm not a Warner anymore and neither are my kids, but it's nice to remember where you came from.

Before we left, they smothered Grandpa in hugs and kisses.

 

Great Grandpa and his smart girl.

 

 Overall, it was a wonderful trip. A trip that was much needed on my part and one that was well-deserved on Grandpa's part. I never want to forget the memories we made. I hope he's around for much, much longer. He turns 75 the day before Cohen turns four. He is planning on coming down for Cohen's party and I am planning on surprising him with a special treat for his birthday. We love you grandpa.

 

All-American Boy

Or All-American Muscle. Whichever way you look at it.

Here is Cohen from Independence Day. He really is, ALL BOY. He wore his tank top with his jeans and cowboy boots. Oh he looked like such a little redneck. But he pulled it off. Bless him. He insisted on a "Mohawk" for the day and he totally rocked that too.


That tattoo? A little secret. I really, really, really dislike rub-on tattoos. I cannot stand them, really. I usually throw them away before the kids notice them in goody bags. But, Chyenne had gotten a "gift" from her cousin and saved the turtle tattoo for Cohen. He totally rocked it with his redneck look.

Those green eyes! He's going to melt some girl's heart one day.

And those muscles!

So strong.

So fierce.

Such a ham!

Look at those guns! He is impressively strong to be three...almost four.

He kept doing this every time I wanted to take his picture.

Everyone around us giggled every time he presented his strength. It made him angry. LOL.

Muscle boy!

I cannot get enough of him. He is so charming. So sweet. So strong. So feisty. He does everything wide open. He's either incredibly sensitive or incredibly fierce. He's my favorite little guy in the whole wide world. I love catching glimpses of who he is going to be when he's older. Can't you just see this strong boy turning into a very strong, athletic teenager? Ah. It makes me sad to think about it, but happy at the same time. I love my All-American Boy!

First Tooth

I know it's an expression that I use a lot, but my children are growing up fast...way too fast. I wish time could slow down or even stand still for a bit. I love their imaginative spirits and everything about each age they have been.

 

Even teething. Yes. I enjoyed teething with both of my babies. They handled everything so well. It was not a big deal. I have always been nervous for the day when they would lose baby teeth & go through that awkward stage of "big teeth, tiny mouth". I have pretty much been dreading it.

But you know what? It really is not all that bad! Well, we're still waiting on a "big tooth" to come in. I am sure she'll rock that look like she does every other.

 

Chyenne lost her first tooth (7-11-2013). She is only 5 years old. I did not lose my first tooth until I was 6 or 6.5. Wow.

The same tooth (front bottom) has been loose since April or May.

It was getting to the point to where it was uncomfortable for her to eat. (Below: At Olive Garden, not eating).

 So, I explained to her that mommy or daddy could pull it out if she wanted. Well, she did want. And, since I told her about my daddy (her papa) pulling out all of my teeth, she decided it was a daddy's job.

 She cried a bit at first when she saw blood, but then she was SO HAPPY! "This means that the tooth fairy is going to bring me some money!"

 Now, isn't that little gap precious?! Of course it is, when she's beaming with pride at least. :)

Her sweet, yet funny note: "Dear Tooth Fairy, here is my first tooth. Please leave me 20 dollars. Thank You! 7-11-2013. Love, Chyenne Taylor Mayfield" Sweet.

 She sat down to write her letter to the tooth fairy. She only needed help with the spelling of a few words. Yes, she asked for $20. Dream big, kid.

 Flash back to when she first got her teeth... the bottom two came in two days at six months old. So sweet. She was 7 months old here.

 As we were getting ready for bed, she was so excited to put her tooth and note under her pillow for the tooth fairy. BUT, she did not stay in her bed all night, she came into our room in what the kids like to call "the floor bed" which is basically a cushiony pallet in the floor. She brought her tooth and letter.
She was sleeping late, daddy had already left for work, I was off work, and Cohen was already awake. I decided to wake her. THEN, I noticed blood. Poor girl had a pretty intense nose bleed during the night and did not wake. Blood was everywhere (see the pillow?). I said, "Chyenne, do you want to wake up and check to see if the tooth fairy came?" Her response, "you check, I'm sleeping." Oh boy! She finally did wake, I cleaned her face and hands of the blood. She was very excited to check under her pillow.

 The Tooth Fairy did leave her a twenty dollar bill... a very glittery twenty dollar bill and my girl was so pleased.

See the blood all over her shirt? Poor girl. But that gap, oh that tiny gap from the missing tooth. So precious.

 

That twenty was apparently burning a hole in her purse. She HAD to spend it. We had a few errands to run, including going to sign both kiddos up for fall soccer. She would not stop talking about having "so much money to buy something awesome". It was pretty cute. She first wanted a couple of craft kits but ended up choosing a new baby doll instead. She loves her.

 

My girl is growing up so fast! See? Side by side comparison.

 

Please don't look goofy when you get big girl teeth. ;)

Despite how much both of my babies are growing up, they will always be my babies.