oH sNow daY, oH snoW dAy

i've long been a fan of snow days.

working as a teacher for 6 years, taught me the pure joy of these winter wonderlands.

i wrote about it here four years ago.

and here three years ago.

well i have to say.

snow days with kids are a bit different 

than snow days without kids.

i learned this lesson two years ago.

last year was the winter from heaven and i didn't ever get the pleasure of being stuck in my house with a screaming baby and crazy toddler.

well, winter has returned this year 

and today i did get the pleasure of being stuck in the house with a crazy toddler and energetic preschooler.

but, i have to say...it was pretty darn fun.

we made blueberry muffins for breakfast

and spent a good chunk of the morning reading and playing in our super awesome fort.

we ate delicious snacks

and watched the snow fall out the front door.

clay worked from home so we were able to spend a little time with him during breaks.

we spent 30 minutes bundling up to go outside for 5 minutes. we couldn't move more than about 3 feet because the snow was so deep and we should maybe consider investing in actual snow gear for our children.

after naps, we had popcorn and movie time.

we did lots of real cooking and pretend cooking

and had a little arts and crafts time.

miss amelia bedelia strongly believes all things should be tasted.

even crayons and paint.

we ate some delicious tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

and did lots of cleaning up.

my snow days may be a little more active than they used to be,

but i think they're filled with more laughter and smiles.

i'll take it.

aMeLia: 15 moNthS

miss amelia ann is 15 months old.

and quite a handful.

she climbs on everything.

she opens everything.

she hits.

she screams.

whoa. what has happened.

there is a lot of fun in all that craziness though. 

she talks and laughs and snuggles.

and boy is she adorable.

see?

here's a little of what's going on with our sweet girl.

sTatS:

weight...20 pounds...10th percentile

length...29 3/4 inches...25th percentile

head...18 inches...60th percentile

sKiLLs

*talking...she has finally started using words. her favorites...mo {more}, nigh nigh {night night}, papa, rum-pa {grumpa}, ball, cheese. she will also repeat lots of different words.

*climbing...like i mentioned earlier, the girl's a climber. the toilet and the kitchen table are her newest endeavors. just this week she fell/climbed out of her crib and fell off the kitchen table. goodness me.
*identifying...she can point to her nose, mouth, ears, head, belly.
*eating...she's a pretty good eater. her favorites are any fruit, mac and cheese, tomatoes, eggs.

stRuggLes
*sleeping...she still isn't the best sleeper anymore. she will do really well for awhile and then start waking up during the night every now and then. we are in the process of dropping the morning nap which, combined with the climbing on everything, has made the days really interesting.

as crazy as this little girl is, she has the sweetest little personality. she loves to snuggle and dance and laugh. millie and leighton love to play together and can go through phases where they are wonderful entertainment for one another. we love her so much !

2012 iN ReviEw

2012.

quite a year.

we did some traveling.

married off some brothers.

and apparently stopped blogging.

here's our year in pictures.

january

leighton turned 2 and started sleeping in a big girl bed.

february

we spent a lot of days in our jammies.

march

someone had a half birthday!!

april
we celebrated easter

may
clay & i celebrated our 4th anniversary with a trip to boston.

june
the mccords came to visit!

july
my baby brother got married and the nieces and nephews spent lots of time together.

august
we had some serious dance parties.

september
two important events:
leighton had her first day of school.

amelia turned one!

october
my little cheerleaders did some awesome trick or treating.

november
clay's brother got married in florida.
a wedding and a vacation all in one.

december
we enjoyed lots of christmas celebrations.

looking back on all of our pictures from the year has made me smile.
we started the year with a tiny baby and a little bit bigger baby
and ended the year with two big girls.
i can't believe how much they've grown.
what a blessed family we are!
i absolutely can't wait to see what 2013 brings us.

A is for AmeLia

in honor of miss amelia turning one

we had a birthday party.

the birthday girl

the theme was ABC

idea found here 

the food was simple {especially since i botched the pencil cupcake pops}

goldfish, cupcakes, candy, homemade pretzel bites

it took millie approximately two seconds to discover that the cupcake was the tastiest thing she'd ever eaten. then she devoured it.

lots of fun babies and big kids came to help celebrate.

it was a great day celebrating our baby girl.

happy birthday amelia ann!

aMeLia: 12 moNtHs oLd

my tiny baby is one.
i can barely believe it,
but here's a little bit of what's going on with amelia ann.

sTatS
weight...19 pounds 1 ounce...25th percentile
length...28 3/4 inches...40th percentile
head circumference...18 1/8 inches...77th percentile

sKiLLs
*walking...she started walking more than crawling right around her birthday. i love the new little baby walk. it's so darn adorable.
*sign language...we are working on this. she can say please, but she only uses it when prompted.
*climbing...is this a skill? i guess so. every day i feel like she surprises me with something else she can climb on top of.
*loves...people, food, her sister, getting into everything, her paci, whatever leighton has

stRuggLes
*sleep...naps have not been so good lately. she sleeps around an hour in the morning and an hour to an hour and a half in the afternoon. she still frequently wakes up in the middle of the night and screams for a couple of seconds until she finds her paci.
*the fussies...she has been a little fussier lately. i keep thinking maybe she's getting a tooth, but nope...no teeth, just fussing.
*i swear, she turned one and then all of a sudden wants nothing to do with baby stuff. she goes crazy for leighton's big girl sippy cups and leighton's toys. and if you take something away from her...watch out...she screams bloody murder.

miss amelia, you are a complete joy to be around. you love to entertain and you love interacting with others. you rarely cry when i hand you off to someone else and in fact you really don't like to be home without someone else to play with. i love to watch you discover the world as well as watch your adorable personality develop. you attempt to climb on anything and everything and if there are stairs in sight you will do anything you can to make your way to the top. now it would be nice if you would learn how to go down.
you have taught me so much about God's faithfulness and his provision. you are a true joy little lady.
we love you more than you will ever know.

LeigHtoN: 2 1/2 YeaRs oLd

miss leighton gale is growing up before my very eyes.

before i know it, she'll probably be headed to college...texas a&m of course.

here's a little bit of what's going on with my big girl.

sTatS

weight...28 lbs...{give or take} she's still tall and skinny.

sKiLLs

*conversations...i wish i could record her conversations...conversations with me, with amelia, with herself. they are just so cute. she talks all. the. time. and i sometimes dream of the days when i drove around in silence. today i asked her what her favorite color is. her answer..."pink and purple and red. and blue and green and orange and and and...yellow." seriously. she changes her mind all the time. i have no idea where she gets this from {insert sarcasm}.

*coordination...she is incredibly coordinated. i have high hopes for her athletic career.

*school...she just started kids day out and it has been wonderful! she loves it and i can already tell that it is building her confidence.

*she is starting to actually play with other kids and interact more with her peers. sometimes it's a good thing and sometimes it's quite a mess! but i'm thankful she loves her friends.

*she can count to 12, recognizes several letters {but refers to them as 'my letter, millie's letter, etc}, knows all her shapes and colors.

*she loves...playing matching games, playing with her dolls and kitchen, anything outside, dancing, sweets, macaroni and cheese, pizza with black olives, her sister.

stRuggLes

*the beauty of 2 1/2 is that she understands so much more. she can sit still for longer. she says cute things. she plays by herself. but the horror of 2 1/2 is the tantrums. holy moly. the girl is incredibly stubborn and she will stand her ground. we have had screaming, kicking, yelling fits that have lasted 45 minutes just because i told her to apologize to her sister. 

*potty trained...did i mention leighton is stubborn??? well, she is. we attempted potty training about a month ago. she is basically potty trained and knows when she needs to go, when she goes and how to hold it, but she refuses to sit on the toilet. don't try and give me tips...i tried everything. so we quit and we're talking it up a lot and will try again soon.

this kid is so sweet and cute. 

she tells me thank you all the time...today she told me three times, 'thank you, mommy for buying me a step stool." it's the little things.

here's the 2 1/2 year old.

with unfixed hair, holding a toy and cheesin' it. 

because, did i mention she is stubborn?

i pick my battles people.

noThiNg gooD

things have been rough around these parts lately.

a certain two year old {i won't name any names} is driving me over the edge.

on any given day at the fulghum house you will hear

whining,

yelling,

begging,

crying,

fit throwing.

don't get me wrong.

not all of it is from said two year old.

a good amount of it is coming from my lips.

today, i was at my limit.

i couldn't even discipline her because i was afraid of what i might do.

i was angry.

i was sad.

i was frustrated.

frustrated because instead of being the exception,

today had turned into the norm.

i felt ashamed.

what kind of mother am i?

and then i read this

"for i know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.

for i have the desire to do what is right, 

but not the ability to carry it out.

for i do not do the good i want,

but the evil i do not want is what i keep on doing.

now if i do what i do not want, it is no longer i who do it,

but sin that dwells within me."

romans 7:18-20

so good for my soul. 

i mean, if it's in the bible, i must not be the only one who desires to do good, but just can't.

right?

i want so badly to do what is right.

to be a good mom.

to nurture my girls. to love them. to teach them. to encourage them. 

but what i want most is to show them the gospel.

and everyday when i screw up,

everyday when i yell, and throw a fit, 

and am short tempered,

i get to apologize.

i get to tell my girls about how Jesus died on the cross to forgive me for the sin that dwells within me.

and the sin that dwells within them.

praise Jesus that he has not called me to be perfect.

that my hope isn't in being the "good mom".

because for crying out loud, i would be hopeless.

but my hope is in Jesus.

and he redeems, he forgives and he saves.

wE've BeeN busY

since i haven't blogged in months,
i'm going to attempt to get caught up on our summer.
for the sake of memories.

june was a busy, busy month.

we traveled the united states.

had visits from friends.

and enjoyed a hot start to the summer.

clay and i took a trip to boston for our anniversary

it was splendid.

we had not been away without kids since we had kids.

we slept in, ate, walked, read and most importantly did not stop for naptime.

next, clay's friend from college came to visit.

johnny is always a big hit around our house.

he loves yard work and is really good at playing with little kids.

what more could we ask for?

a few days later, the mccords came to visit.

it was a grand weekend of catching up, eating far too much, monopoly deal and memories.

i can't wait to watch these kiddos grow up and make their own memories.

who knows, maybe one day there will be a fulghum/mccord wedding.

if you would like a detailed, adorable and creative synopsis of our time together,

check out annalee's blog

and finally i ended the crazy month with a solo trip to orlando, florida.

i went with my kansas city besties and a group of women from our church

to the gospel coalition women's conference.

it was amazing.

an incredible time of rest, relaxation and renewal.

it was a whirlwind of a month.

but oh so much fun.

aMeLia: eLeveN moNtHs oLd

first of all, let's just address the elephant in the room:

yes, i haven't blogged in two months.

moving on...

amelia is eleven months old.

geez. 

that's almost a year!

my tiny baby is almost one.

sTatS

i have no idea, but she looks like she's getting chubbier.

sKiLLs

*walking...she has taken three steps in a row and she cruises all over the place. she will walk pretty far pushing something or holding someone's hand.

*standing...she can stand up on her own without holding onto anything. most of the time she does this when music is playing. the girl loves to dance.

*waving...she waves anytime someone says hello, hi or bye.

*clapping...loves to clap for herself or anyone else.

*peek a boo...i love it when she does this. she covers her eyes and then drags her hands down her face.

*loves...attention, eating, her paci, dancing, and leighton.

sTruggLes

*teething...maybe?? she still has no teeth, but has been showing signs this week. fussy, drooling, waking up in the night.

i just love this little girl so much. she has the sweetest personality and is constantly making people smile. she loves to "talk" to people wherever we are. anytime she gets something she isn't supposed to have or finds something new, she looks at us for approval. millie moo is laid back (most of the time), funny and friendly.

10 months old

11 months old

aMeLia: 9 moNtHs oLd

shockingly, amelia is 9 months old already.

i just can't even believe it.

she is such a joy to be around and i just can't get enough of her.

sTatS

weight...17 pounds 4 ounces...25th percentile

length...26 7/8 inches...30th percentile

head circumference...17 1/2 inches...65th percentile

sKillS

*standing...she is very sturdy and will stand on her own for a few seconds. she also transfers back and forth between furniture, but isn't cruising yet.

*words/sounds...she is making a few different consonant sounds including dada. i'm pretty sure it is purposeful and she knows what she is saying.

*eating...the girl can eat. she loves loves loves table food. tomatoes, turkey, cheese, yogurt, blueberries. she is eating anything we give her.

*sleeping...she is doing really well. taking two naps a day and sleeping from 6:30 pm to 6:30 or 7 am.

*loves...any and all attention, dancing (she bounces up and down when music is on), playing with her big sister and swimming (she is a wild woman in the water)

stRuggLes

*the wiggles...she is unbelievably wiggly during diaper changes.

*cords, outlets, anything dangerous...when we tell her no, she just looks at us with this big grin on her face. naughty naughty.

we love this baby girl so much.

i want to freeze time in order to ensure that she will never grow up.

we love her so much.

i'M liKe aN oLd houSe

yesterday was one of those days.

i was a disappointment.

i failed.

i failed as a mother.

i failed as a friend.

i failed as a wife.

i just felt sad. 

i was frustrated with myself that i couldn't do better. that i couldn't be better.

and then i read this.

"on my worst days, i start to believe that what God wants is perfection. that God is a new-house God. That everything has to work just right, with no cracks in the plaster and no loose tiles. that i need to be completely fixed up. i always think that God's kind of people are squeaky-clean people whose garages don't leak, but really a lot of the people God uses to do amazing things are people who don't necessarily have it all together. a lot of the best stories in the Bible, the ones where God does sacred, magical things through people, have a cast of characters with kind of shady pasts, some serious fixer-uppers."

shauna niequist cold tangerines

i've reread this paragraph approximately 25 times since yesterday. 

it hits home.

it's true.

and i am oh so thankful for a God that takes my disappointments,

that takes my failures

and loves me because of them.

because where other people see a rickety old house,

God sees an amazing story.

a story that will make Him look good.

a story that takes my failures and my weaknesses 

and shows off God's perfection.

*if you haven't read shauna niequist, you absolutely must.

bittersweet is amazing

and i'm just beginning cold tangerines.

they are so personal and almost every chapter i read i think,

'huh, how is it possible that she says exactly what i think and feel?'

do it.

you'll thank me.

aMeLia: 8 moNthS oLd

so i have been horrible at this whole blogging thing lately.

yes, i skipped 7 months.

so i'll just combine them.

sTatS

weight...16 pounds 11 ounces

{at 7 months}

sKiLLs

*around 6 1/2 or 7 months she started sitting up perfectly. she also started crawling right around then. she's an adventurous little thing. she crawls all over the place and goes wherever she wants.

*pulls up to standing {around 7 1/2 months}. she's a little crazy and pulls up on anything. this makes for lots of falls!

*eating...she's eating lots of foods and has started eating table food as well. she has had cheese, black beans, strawberries, bananas, bread.

*sleeping...the little joker is still waking up some nights and crying for a few minutes. i think she wakes up and cries until she can find her pacifier. 

*loves...she loves bathtime, playing outside, anything that's not a toy, the remote control, screaming at people, blowing bubbles, smiling.

stRuggLes

*i can't think of anything!

the girl makes us smile and laugh all the time. she already has such a sweet sense of humor. i just love being with her every day. the girl smiles with her whole face and it is the cutest thing ever. she brightens our days.

7 months old

8 months old

sisTeRLy tHiNgs

these girls are oh so hilarious these days.

they play together a lot.

amelia is crawling and pulling up on everything.

she does not like to be left behind.

she wants to be right in the middle of it all.

"who me??"

miss millie moo is a screamer.

she loves to play the game, "can you scream as loud as me?"

you've never heard of it?

oh, that's right, she made it up.

the girl is an explorer. 

often times, she will just disappear and crawl around the house checking everything out.

we usually find her in our bedroom looking at herself in the mirror.

don't be fooled by this picture.

leighton is giving me a run for my money these days.

i bet i say "obey with a happy heart."

and "be kind to one another."

to her approximately 200 times a day.

leighton is currently obsessed with dora the explorer.

it is the show she picks to watch every single time she watches anything.

i mean, like 3 times a day.

she also pretends that she is dora,

daddy is boots, millie is swiper and i'm isa.

she calls us by these names about 50% of the day.

it is quite hilarious.

and then every now and then

we have moments like this.

"how dare you steal my toy??!!"

i guess we'll have a lot more looks like this over the next 20 years!