Time flies...

SO much happened in March and April.

We listed our house, sold our house, and moved into a new house. ENORMOUS news.

The Easter bunny found our house. EXCITING news.

David started at a new school. CHANGING news.

David learned to ride a 2 wheeler, HUGE news.

Molley made a new best friend, AMAZING news.

David started playing baseball, SPORTS news.

All of these things and more, yet I did not make a single post.

I will not win blogger of the year.

We are loving our new neighborhood! There are kids - so many kids, so many laughs, squeals, smiles, and hugs. We have some pretty cool neighbors, a great location, and the prefect house for our family.

Most of these have made their way to Facebook, but here are some of the highs from the past few months.

 

Changes

So this happened.

After months of talking about it, weeks of prep, we finally signed a contract to sell our house!! I am excited and terrified all at the same time.

This house holds so many memories. I bought it on my own before Nate and I met. That's a BIG step for anyone! Then I met him and he moved in. For a brief stint, my brother-in-law even lived with us. We were married and came back to this house. We brought home 2 kids from the hospital here. We've seen first steps, heard first words, had many deep conversations here, and watched our kids become little people.

When I bought the house it seemed huge! I got a little smaller with all of Nate's things, then David's, then Molley's. We are busting at the seams - walking on each other (literally at times) and have no personal space. It is time to move.

We are crossing everything we can that our current house sells quickly! We are ready to start building memories in a new house and for David and I to be in the same district.

Check us out here!

I'm sorry Molley.

I am a horrible blogger. Horrible. See those numbers at the side over there. Marked difference in one kid vs two. Bigger difference in baby/toddler vs toddler/kindergartener.

When I started this blog, it was to get all of the things down that I didn't want to forget. Things that would remind me of how cute my kids were when they were yelling at me as teenagers. Things to use later for blackmail. :)

Molley has gotten the short end of the stick on this. It's not that I love her less, or that she is less cute than David, life has just gotten in the way. Things are messier; busier than they used to be. I don't get to document every little thing for her like I did for David. I hate that. I need to be better at it.

Here are just a few of the things I never want to forget.

*****
Molley can't say David, so she calls him Dayday. Now she asks for him when we pick-up at his school. "I need Dayday Mott." I don't know if he wanted a nick name, but he will forever be Dayday.

*****
Me: Are you Molley Mott?
Molley: I not Mott!
(She has since embraced her last name of Mott.)

*****
Molley: Cheese, please! And Dayday. Cheese for Dayday.
(She never takes something just for her. David always needs the same thing, whether he wants it or not.)

*****
Molley: I wove you Mommy.

*****
Molley: Don't sing mommy!
Molley (seconds later): SING mommy!

*****
David: My mommy!
Molley: No, MY mommy!
David: My daddy!
Molley: MY Mommy!
minutes later when mommy has made her mad
Molley: MY daddy!

*****
Molley: Dance, mommy!

*****
Me: OUCH!
Molley: You otay mommy? You otay?

*****
She needs music. It is her thing. I love hearing her sing along with her favorite songs. It is adorable.
"Tinkle, tinkle, wittle tar..."

*****
She puts on dress-up clothes as soon as she hits the door. You never know who she will be or how many times she will change. Shoes are a must, and most days a penny (ponytail) with a bow to match the dress is required.

*****
I love when she comes to watch me get ready. She brings her hair brush and play make-up to get ready just like mommy.
"You pitty mommy? I pitty mommy?"
Yes sweet pea, you are beautiful, inside an out

*****
She is such a drama driven, happy, tantrum throwing, giggly little person with a personality so much bigger than her little body. She knows what she wants (or who she wants) and when she wants it. She wants to dress-up in frilly princess dresses, but also to go dig in the dirt with her brother. She reminds me everyday to be a kid, to smile and that I am loved. She also reminds me daily that I will have my hands full in just a few short years.

She is growing up so much faster than David did, and I am not ready for that.

Ice Bucket Challenge

I was nominated for the ice bucket challenge, and in the spirit of giving, I accepted said challenge.
David wanted to join in after watching all of the videos on my news feed.

We decided that we wanted to donate to the American Cancer Society in honor of all the family and friends we know who are still battling this disease, and in honor of those who have kicked it's ass!

I have challenged the entire Mott family. David has challenged my parents and my sisters.

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/TeSGpjfEZxY

 (Note to all taking the challenge. Check your sound. We did this the night before, and you couldn't hear us, so we repeated the next morning.)

Family

The Sunday spring break started, we took a trip to Ohio to see my grandma with Court and my parents. 4 kids, 4 adults, 2 cars, and a few hours later, we made it there. Bless Grandma's heart, her memory is not what it used to be, but she knew having 4 of her 6 great grand kids, 2 of her 3 grandchildren, and her son together under one roof was something special.

Unfortunately, we did not get great photo documentation of this day. But hey - memories, right?

Probably the best shot of the day

 



 

Sibling love...

 

Dad with my kids

Courts kid's

 



 

Best group shots...

Grandma and Charlie

Doll House Restoration

Years ago (you know, like 5), my grandfather made my sisters and I doll houses. Those houses were loved. Very well loved. My mom saved the houses for us, just on the off chance we wanted them for our children.

My grandfather loved woodworking. He also made us china doll hutches and shelves. My hutch moved with me from mom's to Batesville, back to mom's, and into our house now. Nate refinished it before David was born to match the nursery furniture, and it is still in there. It reminds me of grandpa every time I go in there.

When I found out Molley was a girl, I knew I wanted her to have a doll house. Little did I know that when my sister Courtney found out Lyla was a girl, she wanted the same thing. In talking about it, we decided that we wanted to restore the houses together and give them to the girls for their 2nd birthdays. (Molley and Lyla are only 6 months apart.)

We started out project in December. Who knew that restoring 25yr old doll houses could take so much time! We picked the paint, found the furniture and people, and went to work. My dad helped us out by priming the houses. There was some wallpaper to be taken out that my mom had put in them for us. I wish I had a picture of what they looked like to start, but here is a picture of what the looked like after a coat (or 3) of prime and the floors painted.

 

 

Courtney and I wanted bright, fun colors. We didn't want this to be something that was to look at and not touch. Bright and fun they are!

 

This is after we painted the house and placed some of the furniture. We kept the exterior pretty much the same color as before. It had wallpaper in when we were little, but we wanted to paint it. After trying to paint in the tiny middle rooms, we wished we had picked wallpaper. :)

 

My kitchen and mom. I love the purple/yellow/grey color scheme. And yes, our kitchen is on the 2nd floor. It worked best with the colors.

 

 

Bathroom. I love the bubble looking stickers on the wall. They look like tile!

 

Playroom. Every girl needs a dress up room! There are some dresses that the girl can wear that will hang on the wall.

 

Landry/mud room, complete with a dog.

 

Family room with dad and brother. The girls love the TV because it plays music.

Bedroom with a window sticker, and a cross, just like my room.

 

The whole house. The front bottom we tried to faux paint grass. It looks better in person.

 

 

The house with the front on it. We loved the idea of curtains, and it only took us hours to figure out that we wanted plain white and not colored ones.

 

 

The front of Lyla's house

 

 

Up close of the doors

 

This is Molley's - address is her birthday

 

 

Lyla's 

 

The sides of the house. I was so excited to find the picket fence done for me in the craft store. So much easier than making it ourselves!

 

 

They aren't perfect, but we love them! They took a while - several Saturday's, but they will be well loved by a new generation.

 

I think grandpa would love that we kept them, and cared enough to make sure our girls could play with them as well. There is one more that was Caiti's. We think we will work on it  and it will stay at moms house for the girls to play with there. It was so much fun to do these together, and with mom. Even Caiti got to help some when she was home, and she supplied many of the scrapbook stickers that were used to decorate the walls.

 

I can't wait for Lyla to get hers and see how excited she will be. 6 months is a long time to wait to give Molley hers, but I know by then she will be ready to play with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Great Pumpkin!

Last week, we made our annual trip to Tuttle's for all of our pumpkin needs. It was a little chilly, but still a beautiful evening to go! David needed to find the perfect pumpkin, and had fun checking them all out. Molley was just a long for the ride. :)

David pointing out the p's

Not so sure about it all.

 The great pumpkin!

Lantern Launch 2013

A few weeks ago, we did a lantern launch at church to raise money for missions. Raising the money may have been the primary reason, but for us, it was so much more.

We used the launch to thank God and remember our angels, and the angels of others who had experienced a loss. I had also invited a group of students from school to come. They had all lost a parent at some point in the last year. I was excited when we got there to see two of them. I had looked forward to this event for a long time, and it did not disappoint. Seeing the lanterns was an amazing experience - the perfect event for remembrance and thanksgiving.

David wanted to know what would happen to the lantern after it was let go. I asked him what he thought. He said that God would catch it.

After the launch, he was insistent on going to look at the stars. We went out and laid on the grass to look up. I asked what we were looking for.
David: a star - the brightest.
Me: Why buddy?
David: It's my lantern, mom. God caught it and sent it back as a star.
Me: Is it because God loves you David?
David: No mom, it because God loves everyone, not just me.

Who knew a 4 year old could be so smart.

Slide Fun

Molley has a new favorite activity! (And David has a new favorite part about being a big brother!)

She loves the slide! She did this for 30 minutes, when we got tired of putting her back at the top. She squealed and giggled, and David did too. I love watching her learn new skills!

Happy 4th!

This year wasn't as hot as last year on the 4th (thank the Lord!), so we were able to do the parade in my parents neighborhood. It's so much fun to see all of the kids decorate their bikes and follow the fire truck during the parade. Back in the day, they would even use the hose at the end to get everyone wet. After your walk, you get a popsicle - little kid heaven.

Afterwards,we all headed to my sisters house for swimming, food, and of course fireworks. The kids liked the swimming and marshmallows best, though Lyla showed the veggie dip who was boss.

At least the cake was good. 

Caiti's surprised face.

Why is it that my daughter is the one who looks drunk?