Welcome

Hooray for Uncle Ben and Aunt Carrie for starting an awesome blog! We LOVE it! And YAY Uncle Drew and Aunt Amburger! Post on!

This just in: Steve is going to blog it up too! That means the entire Tracy family is online and on board. Sweeet!

Ryen's Thoughts On Blogging

"I like to play on the computer, but not on Daddy's. I like to look at the pictures on the computer and see my friends and my cousins a lot. I really just love them. I saw my Uncle Drew and Aunt Amburger on the computer and it made me just feel happy. I like Uncle Drew and he is my uncle. He plays with me and just loves me and spins me around a lot. Uncle Drew and Aunt Amburger are going to play with me at Grammy's house and Aunt Caity's. We can just go swimming. I can see just everybody. I am really excited and just love them so much. I like to see anybody (everybody) on my computer and I just really love them."

Super Snugglers

My goodness, Ry and Maddie are SUPER snugglers! They are both so affectionate! I always find them snuggled up together on the couch- each trying to take care of the other. It's a sweet little battle over who gets to do the mothering... and Madelyn usually loses. :)

Constantly Craving Creation

When I became a mother, I figured out early on that I needed to hold onto things that were my own. I don't mean possessions or actual "things", but rather pieces of myself- my passions and interests. I have the heart of an artist (even if I don't have the skills of one) and I constantly crave creation, inspiration and expression. I have been able to tame the beast through photography, digital scrapbooking, and even with the small art projects I do with my girls. I find it is they who most inspire me. Ryen is really into acting and puppets right now so I recently built the girls a stage out of plastic pipes that I bought at a home improvement store. (I'll post pictures of that later.) I am now exploring the whimsical world of felt. I'm working on finger puppets and hand puppets right now. I have been blown away by the ADORABLE designs I have found online. It is amazing what a little bit of creativity can... well... create.

*The incredible ship shown in the top picture was made by Ann Wood. I would love to tackle something like that one of these days!

Saturday At The Spray Park

Ryen's friend, Caroline, celebrated her 4th birthday at the spray park on Saturday. Ry had soooo much fun riding on the carousel and the train that loops around the park. She was a little timid in the water, which made watching her play really amusing! She did her best to run around and splash, while at the same time trying to avoid all of the water zipping and zooming around her. What a character! (That last picture is Ry saying "Peace out!" and sending me a kiss with her two fingers.) She had a seriously fun day!

Putting The FUN In FUNNY

Oh man, I love to laugh! I think the funniest people are usually the ones who have no idea they are funny. Since kids usually fall under that category, boy do they give me a lot of laughs! Not only do MY kids make me laugh, but I was rolling on the floor over what these little angels were up to. (Maybe it's a BOY thing!)

Fancy Pants

Today I decided to dress up. I had no reason to whatsoever, but I just got the urge and followed through on it. Now, just to clarify, dressing up to me means not wearing a baseball cap, putting on make-up, coordinating an actual "outfit" instead of just putting on whatever is clean and the least humiliating. I (sadly) don't usually bother with any of that since my kids and forgiving SAINT of a husband seem to love me the same no matter how schlumpy I look. It's the blessing and the curse of being a stay-at-home mom. For some reason though, I felt the urge to get "fancy" today. I did my hair and make-up, put on jewelry, and even wore my dressy sandals with heels- the ones that perfectly match my cute red purse. When it was time to go run some errands, I told the girls and they both just stared at me. "But Mom, I don't have MY church clothes on!" Ryen said in the most confused and worried little voice. As much as I tried to explain it to her, she just could not believe that we weren't going to church or to a wedding. Madelyn kept trying to touch my mascara-laden eyelashes and pulling at my dangling earrings. Talk about a wakeup call! Oh my goodness, that was sad! Everywhere we went, Ryen felt the need to tell people that her mommy is, and I quote, "goooooood lookin!" Oy vei.

Southern Girl

Ryen was a born actress. I don't know many children her age who can do impressions. :) Her two best friends, Annabel and Caroline, are just adorable little girls with BIG southern accents! Ry loves to talk like they do. What a goofball!

Potty Pooper

Lately, our little Maddie Moo has been showing a lot of interest in the "potty." (How did my baby get so old?!?) That girl is more regular than the changing of the guards so at "about that time" this morning I decided to let her give the potty a try. Sure enough- she totally did it! Oh man, was I elated! We went out for ice cream to celebrate and I bought Maddie this new potty. I thought $35 was a bit steep for a plastic thing to put a tushie on, but this little throne from Fisher Price is AWESOME! It's more of a toy than a potty training tool so Maddie (and Ryen!) can't get enough of it! Madelyn screams like a banshee when I try to get her off that thing and has actually "used" it THREE times now! Oh man, I am loving Fisher Price right now!

I was telling my mom the big news this afternoon and I told her how rad Maddie's little toilette is. I started thinking about it and realized that there are a few things I have discovered for use in the powder room that have made parenting SO much easier. So, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite finds with you...

This adorable little frog attaches to your shower wall in a jiffy... and stays there! It's so cute, but also really well thought out. There is a storage shelf on top, the bin that holds all of your toys is removable so you can use it as a scoop, and all of the little froggy fingers can be used to hang things. LOVE this!

Ryen HATES having her hair washed. She has always been a total stinker about that. Since I found this little rinse cup, life has improved x1,000 around here! God bless the parent who thought up this little baby!

Johnson's has a whole line of really great toddler products that work (and smell) fantastic! My favorite is the hand soap. Sonny and I even use it in our bathroom! (Also, their Soothing Naturals line of products is scrumptious!)

This is the little fella we got for Madelyn. As I glance into the playroom now, I can see that she is still happily perched upon it, playing with the flusher and dancing to the music. Hour NINE and counting...

Ryen's Lovely Locks

Ever since Ryen was a baby, we haven't been able to go anywhere without people commenting on her gorgeous hair. When I saw that there was a contest going on for the most beautiful hair, I just had to submit a picture of our little cutie. I'm sure a gazillion people will enter- as every parent thinks their child is the most magnificent thing on the planet. But, even if we don't place, it was fun curling Ryen's hair and doing this little photo shoot.

*I'm sure you're probably wondering how I got her to hold still long enough to curl that hair... M&M's. Lots of M&M's!

Corn On The Cob

According to my kids, nothing in this world is better than corn on the cob... except toast.

Father's Day

We had such a wonderful Father's Day this year. The day was one of those perfect days that you know, even in the midst of it, you will remember for the rest of your life. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it just felt like one of those days you get lost inside... in a good way. A really blissful, don't-care-what-time-it-is, feel-like-a-kid-again, all-the-world-is-right kind of day. I am so incredibly blessed for so many reasons, but mainly because I am married to the most amazing man and father the world has ever known. Sorry to all of the other incredible men out there, but mine gets the title. :)

Pick-A-Poochie

Just FYI- these are the lucky little buddies we are considering...

Bryson: Poodle Mix

Lexi: Wheaton Terrier/Scottie

Scruffers: Cockapoo

(Notice a theme? Ha ha ha!)

Man's Best Friend

I'm pretty sure we're going to adopt a dog. Lily (our sweet little Boston Terrier) spends a lot of time outdoors and has TONS of energy. Actually, she spends a lot of time outdoors BECAUSE she has tons of energy! We play with her as often as we can and take her for lots of walks, but still, Sonny and I both think it would be really great for her to have another dog to run around with. The great thing about adopting a dog is that you can usually skip that wild puppy phase since many of the animals looking for homes have already been trained. We have filled out an application and hope to meet our potential pooches this week. Sonny and the girls are ecstatic and, if Lily knew, I'm sure she would be too! I'm not sure if having another dog will make life easier since Lily will have another buddy around to get some of that energy out with or if life will become harder... since Lily will have another buddy around. Any thoughts? We'll see how it goes.

Funny Face

Okay, seriously... What is this face??? Madelyn pulls this one CONSTANTLY and I have no idea where she came up with it. Actually, this picture was snapped when she was in the process of making The Face. The finished look involves really wide open eyes and lips that are a little more flattened out. Imagine an adorable little orangutan opening the door to a surprise birthday party. "For me?" My goodness, we have expressive children!

The Things Ryen Says

Ry says the funniest things. Oh my goodness, what she comes up with! She's been telling me whoppers ever since she first learned to speak. I always joke that it was easy to get her to learn to talk, but getting her to be quiet is a whole other story! I try to take notes of the silly things she says and here are a few recent ones...

"I'm a super strong girl and I know I'm good and I know I can do anything. I know I made a mess in the playroom, but it's cool, Mom. It's just a little thing for sake!"

Yesterday, Ryen and Maddie were playing with a puzzle and I could hear them both getting frustrated. Then Ry yelled to me, "Mom! Maddie won't get out of my business! She's up in my business Mom!"

When we were at the store a couple of days ago, Ryen kept sticking her finger in her ear. I finally asked her what she was up to and she replied, "Oh nothing. Just looking for ear boogers."

I don't know if I ever laugh harder than I do when I am listening in on Ryen and Maddie playing together. Ryen is constantly telling Madelyn what to do. I recently wrote down this conversation: "Mads, I seriously need you to behave. I'm serious. I'm going to let you stay up but only if you will promise to be really good. Will you be a good girl Mads? I don't want to put you in time-out, but I think maybe you might need to think about things. If you are naughty, you have to go to your room by yourself because I can't carry you. I have big muscles, but I'm just not a growed-up yet I don't think. So just be good now okay little one?" (It's so funny when she calls Maddie Little One.)

I could make this entire blog about the funny things that come out of Ryen's mouth!

*Madelyn's favorite things to say right now are (appropriately) "I don't have to" and "Love you too!"

Just For Fun

With the amount of pictures I take, it is REALLY hard to stay on top of my scrapbooking! These are a couple of pages I just finished using quick pages from SMJ Designs- another one of my favorite places to buy digital scrapbook stuff.

It's No Secret

We do A LOT of traveling. Whether it's a weekend getaway close to home, a trip to visit family, or a romantic getaway overseas, we seem to be a family on the go! As crazy as that sometimes gets, we're really looking forward to our next adventure- a trip to Michigan. Some of my brothers and sister were able to get together last summer (such a BLAST), but this time we will ALL be there. With how spread out we all are, that is really amazing. I am SO excited about that! We'll even get to spend some time with several of my cousins and extended family who I haven't seen in a really long time. We do our best to work around Sonny's vacation time, but it can be really hard to do everything we want to do and see everyone we want to see. (Sonny is currently in agony over having to miss his yearly trip to Lake Powell!) Considering all of this, I often end up asking myself, "WHY do we live so far away from all of our family???" I know that the Lord wanted us to live where we are and we have learned so much during our time here. Having said that, I think Sonny and I both feel ready for a change. As much as I love the frequent flier miles, I am going to really love cutting our traveling in half.

Love That New Car Smell

Sonny and I have been looking for a new car for the past few weeks. We've wanted something with 4 wheel drive and third row seats- both things we don't have in my Trailblazer. We thought about getting an Odyssey, but we just fell in love with the Honda Pilot. We found the exact one we wanted while we were on vacation in Wilmington. I love the stormy blue color and the leather seats. I also love the way it drives. Sonny spoils me rotten! I have never seen him so eager to run errands after he gets home from work. ;)

Another Vacation

Wilmington

We went on a little vacation to Wilmington, NC last week and had SO much fun! We spent a lot of time on the beach and swam like a school of fish in our hotel's giant pool. We even watched "Finding Nemo" while swimming one night- which was just magical for the girls. We took them to an aquarium and they couldn't get enough of that place! We made some really fun family memories. I took way too many pictures, which is so not like me. Ha ha! Just click on the photo above to see our album.

Playing Pool

Ry and Maddie just LOVE our little pool. It's just big enough to feel like a pool, but small enough that the kids aren't frightened by it. As dorky as it looks, I'm really glad we bought it a couple of years ago. Especially with how humid and warm the summers can be here. This may be our only incentive to brave the outdoors for the next few months! I love to see how excited the girls are when I tell them it is swimming time. It's just so cute to watch them squeal and splash! My two little mermaids...

Cuter Than Cupcakes

I don't know if there is any greater thing than to see your children become friends. Madelyn loves Ryen so much and looks to her for guidance, love, and inspiration. Ryen, in turn, is always right there for Madelyn- to play with her, kiss her owies, and to lovingly encourage her. Once in a while they face the inevitable "I had it first" battles but, even so, it can't be denied that these two sweet daughters of mine are, indeed, best friends.

A Little Dirt Never Hurt

...And it's a good thing too! Sonny and I have been working away on our house lately- especially our landscaping. The girls have loved the chance its given them to run around outside and get truly, totally, monstrously... dirty. Our little ladies are princesses, there is no denying that. But, even so, make no mistake about it- these little divas make a mean mud pie!