De-CRIM-ber

It has been a busy December for the Crim household. We are enjoying the hustle and bustle that the season brings as well as trying to remain focused on the humble and beautiful gift of our Lord Jesus' birth. In addition to Christmas, we also celebrated my Mother's graduation, yea Mom, with a 4.0 GPA from MTSU. She has won the prize of highest GPA in our family for sure. Here are some pictures from the month.

Animal Train

Sid is known for her love of animals, I think that we must have about 40 of them scattered about the house. Yesterday she took her animals on a train ride (our couch cushions) and made sure they got their snack as well (pretzels for all!) She is so creative and thoughtful in her imagination, Her days always hold adventure.

What Happens When a 1-Year Old Gets Sugar...

Sawyer got into his sister's coke-coke (Sprite) and this happened (sorry it is so dark)...I can't wait to see what happens after all the Halloween candy.

Believing God

Okay, so I just have to give God some glory tonight because He is good. He is good all the time but today was fun because I'm in the middle of a Beth Moore bible study called 'Believing God' and through the study I have been trying to turn over my money worries to Him and believe Him for His provision. So, when I walk into Old Navy today I get one of their give-a-way coupons and it was for...$50 dollars! I was so excited, so Sawyer and I had a little shopping spree today and we got some cute deals and at the end of the day I ended up with a bag full of clothes for nothing. Thank you God and Old Navy! Hope that you are each blessed today with a little touch of God, Believe Him because He does great things in our lives everyday.

A Perfect Fall Day

Today couldn't have been sweeter for Sidney and Sawyer. We went to the AU Equestrian meet this morning and Sid got to ride a full size horse which she was a natural at of course. There were horses all over the place, at one point we were like surrounded on all sides, my little girl's dream. Then we were off to the pumpkin patch to pick out that perfect one. The kids had fun picking through the pumpkins, petting the farm animals, and of course riding the 'Thomas' train (Mommy had fun on that one too although it was a little jiggly).

Home and Healthy

After a week long trip to Nashville and some tummy trouble, the Crim family is home again and all healthy, praise God! It is amazing how good it feels to be back to 'normal' and into our routines again. Last night we spent some time just playing outside in the front yard and enjoying this beautiful fall weather. We are trying to take time to soak up all that the kids are doing now, they are both just growing up so fast! Here's to more fall days in the sunshine!

Happy Birthday to My Two Favorite Boys

(Sorry for the double slideshow, I can't figure out why there are two of them , Help!)

This week we celebrated Sawyer's 1st Birthday and Sammy's 30th. This is truly a blessed season of our lives. I love all that Sawyer is doing now...exploring everything, walking around all wobbly, cackling loudly at all my silly faces, waving bye-bye, uttering his first semblance of words, getting into mischief, and loving on his family. And, I just plain love my husband. I am so thankful to God for the blessing of both my kids and my Sammy. Thank all of you for the birthday gifts, wishes, and prayers. We had a great time celebrating with you all!

I Love Food...

Anyone who has met Sawyer knows that he loves some food. He has now transitioned from baby food to anything that he can pick up and put in his mouth, his latest love is lasagna. Some of his other favorites include toilet paper (seriously he will take like a whole bite out of it), puzzle pieces, Memory cards, books, crayons, stickers, and animal crackers.

Here is a picture of Sawyer from the Fall Festival. The kids had fun in all the craziness and Sid came home with a plastic whistle that makes beautiful music, whenever she plays it all the dogs in the neighborhood start howling. But, she loves it and that is all that matters, right. Now where are those earplugs...

Oh to be a Kid again...

One of the best things about being a Mom is being able to watch your kids experience life to its fullest. They aren't worried about what they look like or how messy they might get, they just live for the moment. Today in the middle of the rain, Sidney, Sawyer and I decided to play outside and get a little wet. We had the best time just soaking up life along with a little water.

Sawyer is Walking, sort of...

Here is some video of Sawyer and his walking skills. He hasn't quite mastered the elegance or grace of walking, but he has the basic steps down, well sort of.

War Eagle!

War Eagle to all our Auburn Tigers out there!

I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie...

It is official, my son has a big booty. Today we graduated into size 5 diapers and they are huge. Considering Sawyer isn't even 1 yet we are in for trouble, he may outgrow diapers before he is 2 and be the first toddler to wear Depends. Gotta love those thighs!

Rainy Days

With all this rain that we have been having, the kids and I have been spending a lot of time indoors. This makes for some creative playtime. Here are some pictures of our indoor fun. I'm thankful for the rain but I'm going a bit stir-crazy as well, bring on the sunshine! This one is of Sawyer munching on his favorite snack, crayons. Love the waxy goodness.

Here is Sid washing her hair with hand soap, her hair still smells like vanilla.

Sawyer playing with Sidney's doll, shhh... don't tell Daddy.

This is Sid's favorite new thing to do, hide under her covers. She loves to play in her hidden undercover world and wait for Mommy to come find her.

Fire!

Tonight was one of the funniest and most embarrasing moments of my life. While our church was holding an important meeting I was out in the lobby with Sid, she had gotten upset in the toddler room so I was trying to entertain her. Well, turns out she was the one who did the entertaining...while I was reading up on announcements at the information desk, I turn around and notice that the fire alarm had been pulled by none other than my daughter. While my mind was racing as to what to do next the alarms started sounding and the lights flashed all through the building while a woman's voice was saying 'Please proceed out of the building' Needless to say the next few moments were chaos, babies screaming in the nursery, people leaving the meeting, you can imagine. And all the while my sweet, innocent child is in my arms not aware that she was the one who started all of this. As we were leaving the church, the fire department was arriving. At least the kids got a chance to see a real life fire engine. I can't stop laughing about it all. I think we are in for a lot with this girl. I can't wait to see what adventures she will bring to our lives.

Potty Time

I will spare you any pictures with this post but I wanted to report that Sidney received 8 potty stickers today! We are so excited about her progress. She is working toward the goal of 20 stickers when she will get a toy horse that she fell in love with at Target, yes, I am bribing my child but it works. Here's to all you Mom's and Dad's out there who have gone through potty trainng and seen the other side. These are dirty days but I'm hoping that they will lead to some more clean ones ahead.

New Bed!

I don't know which is sweeter, the moment my kids wake up in the morning or the moment that they go to sleep at night. Sidney's goodnights got sweeter for her this weekend as she transitioned into her first big bed. She loves it! We found this cute headboard at a garage sale and painted it pink and put her name on it then she found these horse decals that she has put all around her room. We are waiting on her horse sheets to arrive in the mail, she wants to check for them like 10 times a day.

In Sawyer news, he is cutting like 3 teeth right now plus has a cold so he is just a mess. He is so close to walking, everytime he stands up I'm just waiting for him to take a step.

A long vacation...

My Grandma with her two great-granddaughters, Sidney and Addie.

My Dad and I got to see Sheryl Crow and James Blount in concert in Nashville, a real treat!

Sammy and I at the Grand Canyon

The fountains at the Bellagio in Vegas, so fun!

The Grand Canyon in all its beauty

We are back in town after being gone for two weeks at my parent's house. We joined our family in celebrating my Grandma's 100th birthday, it isn't officially until October but we are celebrating early. Sidney got to meet her cousin, Addie, who is from Colorado and they enjoyed playing and fighting together as 2-year olds do. Then we left the kids with my parents and Sammy and I skirted away to Vegas. We had a great time, lost some money, saw some shows, did some shopping, and mostly just enjoyed being on our schedule. While we were there we took a day trip to the Grand Canyon and fell in love with it, breathtaking to say the least. What an incredible creator that we have! I've posted a couple of pictures from our journey. Thanks to my parents who made it possible!

I Love...

Sidney loves to love things. The other day in the car she looked at me and said 'I Love People'. The past few days she has proclaimed her love to horses, books, hippos, ice cream, Sawyer, Mommy, Daddy, and Jesus. The only thing she has come across that she doesn't like is turkeys, we saw a picture of one in a book and she said, 'I don't like turkeys.' I must admit, they are a little funny looking. Here are some pictures of Sid and Sawyer doing things that they love...

Sidney loves to paint, notice that she is getting just as much on her as on the paper.



As you might know from looking at him, Sawyer loves to eat. My little boy weighs in at a whopping 24 lbs, 12 oz at 10 months. Whew, I'm afraid of the amount he is going to put away when he gets all his teeth in.

Letters and Numbers

So, we are practicing our letters and numbers with Sidney a lot now and teaching her how to spell her name. She can identify all of the alphabet and count to 10 but she adds her own Sidney style. Her favorite letter is 'A' and so everything that we spell starts with an 'A', don't tell her but so does 'Sidney'. As for her numbers, for some reason she doesn't like '7'. She skips it everytime, 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10. Sammy's softball number is '7' but she insists that it is an 8. Hilarious!

A busy week...

We've had a busy past week with Sidney's Aunt Jac-Jac in town. Lots of family time and fun.

Firework watching at Auburn's annual show. The fireworks were gorgeous especially the pastel ones at the end. There was also plenty of natural fireworks as well as a summer storm brought lightening and thunder along with the show. Thanks to the Galimore's for this choo-choo fun. We had a great time at the birthday party!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

There is no better place to be on a summer's evening then at the ballpark. The smells, the dirt, and the sweet voice of Sidney yelling for her Daddy.

Sidney and her Grandma having fun watching the ballgame.

Our future ballplayer with his Daddy.

Playground fun, yee-haw!

Weekend Fun

These are some pictures of Sid pushing her horse in the swing and cooking us up some letters, some of her favorite activities recently. I love watching her imagination at work. She always has the most interesting things to do and keeps us all on our toes.

Transitions

It has been a hard parenting week for us here at the Crim household. We are having to actually be parents and make some hard transitions. For Sidney, she has had to give up her paci ( I know, I am THAT parent whose 2 year old still has one). It has been her longtime confidant and friend so it has been rough at times for her to release it to her special box every morning, she gives it this long look and then looks at me. You can see the inner struggle going on in her head, but after some consideration she usually gives it up and then cries, 'My paci' in this sad voice. But I am so proud of her for letting it go. Then tonight we are starting Sawyer on the 'crying it out' method of sleeping in the crib. He is 9 months old and has probably slept through the night in his crib once, I know again I am THAT parent. But it is time for him and me to get a full night's sleep, although I'm guessing that it won't be tonight.

Through all of this it is amazing what the Lord has revealed to me. So many times we hear that the Lord puts us through change and challenges to help us, to grow us into the person that He has created us to be, but when you actually act it out for your children it makes it so real. Yes, change is hard, yes there will be tears, but there is such reward on the other side. And though I am hating forcing these changes on my kids I know that they are necessary steps in their growth as children just as when we face challenges in our own lives the Lord hates it when we cry and are in pain, but often it is these times in our lives that grow us into the people that He has created us to be. And in it all, the bad stuff, the good stuff He is here with us holding onto us and loving us, just as we love our children through change.

A Walk on the Wild Side

Well we've added a new vehicle to our entourage, a sleek silver Suzuki motorcycle. We are excited to feel the wind in our hair and feel young and reckless if only for a little while before coming back to the kids and the minivan lifestyle. Now we only have to learn how to ride the thing...so watch out for us on the road.

It's Summertime

It is definitely summertime here, it is HOT! Sid and Sawyer have found the best way to beat the heat this year, popsicles! Yum! The best are these miniture ones, the perfect size for little hands. They are messy though, so if you see my kids around this summer they will probably have blue, red, or green tongues from these tasty treats. Hope you find a way to stay cool!

Our Trip to Washington

The kids and I set off on an adventure to Washington to see my brother and his wife. The kids had their first big airplane ride which went better than expected. Except for the challenge of changing diapers in an airplane bathroom, the flight went off without a hitch thanks to my Mother's help and Strawberry Shortcake DVDs. Washington was gorgeous to say the least, our house was right on the coastline and we saw a whale, sea lions, and bald eagles from our back porch, incredible! It was great to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law and the good-byes were hard on the heart. Hope you enjoy the pictures, my brother is a photographer and took some really great ones of the kids.

On the Move

Sawyer is officially on the move now. This past weeked he put those big thighs to work for him and has begun crawling. Although his favorite thing to do is try and pull up on things (he loves either his Mom or Dad) and try to walk. It is way too early for this in my mind and I'm beginning to think that I'm in for trouble with this one...

Cooking with Sid

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed spending some time at home, doing a little shopping, and eating some ribs off the grill. Today we spent some time at the gym, at the pool, and in the kitchen. I thought that it would be fun to make real chocolate chip cookies with Sidney, you know the kind that don't come in a 12-pack which is what my family is used to. I actually have flour in my pantry right now which is a shock for those who know how much I am not the cook. But, we had a great time and Sidney loved to help stir and lick the bowl. Don't we all :)

7 Years!

On Monday, we celebrated our 7th anniversary. We took the kids out to Kiesel Park and showed them where Mommy and Daddy got married. I was a bit sentimental, it has been a great 7 years. Sid didn't care so much, she just wanted to see the goldfish in the pond.

Pony Rides!

Last Saturday Sidney had her very first pony ride. It was such a blessing because right now she is loving some horses. The morning began when I found $5 in my pocket leftover from last summer, magic money. Then we went out to find some treasures and came upon the pony rides which were exactly $5 dollars. As you can tell from the pictures, she was in heaven. It was a moment that the Lord had designed for Sidney and it blessed my heart to get to watch it.