Landry is 4!

I can't believe that my sweet girl turned 4 last week! We celebrated her like crazy, and she loved every bit of the attention. I think she ended up getting to blow out candles at least 6 times during the week (we've been eating out a lot. Ha!). She got big girl presents that have 4 million little pieces, and then Bretton decided to start crawling. :) It's been an interesting week in the Gibson hotel room!

Here are a few of the highlights in pictures...

She got a big girl bike and loves it!

She was the only one in her gymnastics class on her birthday and got to share sweets with all the coaches and go on the big girl equipment!

She got a matching dress and pj set for her hand-me-down American Girl doll...that she named Lindsey. :) I laugh every time she says it. One of my friends said, "Well, maybe that's a good sign that you'll have a grandbaby named after you!" Ha!  

She had a Build-A-Bear birthday party with a few of her friends. It was...wild. The kids had a great time and I thought I needed to be medicated afterwards. That's all I'm going to say. :)

We're missing a few friends that had to step out early, but here's the group with their finished animals! 

 

Landry loves being 4. She's big now...duh. She can all of the sudden do things on her own that she didn't think she could do because she is now "an adult." It's been so fun celebrating our sweet girl that made me a mama. She is absolutely one of the biggest blessings in my life...I am so grateful for each year I get to spend with her!

Hotel Livin'

As of today, we have been living in the hotel for 2 weeks. Our dishwasher had a tiny leak in it that (over a long period of time) leaked through the cabinets and wall in our kitchen and came up through our living room wood floor. At first, we thought it would be an easy fix...after all, the dishwasher was fixed within 10 minutes and the plumber said the part cost less than $10. However, the damage to the wood floor was pretty significant. We tried to find a good match to the floor for over a month, but we found out that our color had been discontinued. Because of that, they are replacing every piece of wood floor in our whole house...which is basically everything except for the kids' bedrooms and our bonus area. The stairs are coming out, baseboards, everything. The workers said yesterday it would be at least 3 more weeks. They haven't even started on the kitchen floor, which is flagstone. They are planning to jackhammer that out and have to lay new stones. Ahh! I'm so glad we are out of there and not having to be home for all of this. Every bit of furniture is moved out of our first floor, and they even emptied out my kitchen cabinets and all of my bathroom drawers (without me knowing...blah) and moved them to storage. I've tried to go home a few times for things I forgot, and those have not been successful trips. :)

 

Being away from home for an extended time is bittersweet. The kids are having a BLAST, but they have begged for their own beds more than a few times. They miss specific toys and definitely miss the luxury of a DVR. :)  We are staying in an extended stay type place that has two bedrooms and a living/kitchen combo. It is definitely not the space that we are used to, but that has actually been a blessing. We are spending lots and lots of family time together. I am not cooking, I am not cleaning, and that gives me a lot more time to focus on the kids.

Here are some of the highlights:

 

Swimming!

 

 Coin Laundry...and we even get to ride the elevator for that part. :)

 

 

Sharing a bed! I had the kids nap separately the other day, and Collier cried and cried for Landry. After 6 weeks of being bed-buddies, this might be a hard habit to break. :)

Smiley baby soaking up all the love and attention.

Indoor sandbox. I packed a bazillion little things that I thought would keep the kids busy. We have played with a few, but we haven't been just hanging out in the room as much as we do at home.

Free cookies...

and bananas...all day in the lobby.

Resting, relaxing, and renewing while the kids nap every afternoon...

The kids are so close I can watch them (not even over the monitor) while they sleep. Love, love, love.

Serious family bonding...we can't get away from each other. :)

Some afternoons, we go down to the lobby just to quit tearing up our own room. They have board games down there, and Collier loves to scatter them all over the floor. Good thing the hotel ladies love our kids!

We're out of the house, but we're happy!

Ready to get home?  Absolutely.

Feeling blessed and learning through this process? Yep.

I bet I do a lot of cleaning out when I get home!

 

I hope you have a blessed Easter weekend! I am so grateful for a Savior who loves me beyond my flaws and imperfections.

Collier Quotes...

I can't believe I am doing a blog post with no pictures, but my cord to upload photos is in the other room where Bretton is napping...I'm not chancing waking the sleeping baby! :)

 

I have started having to write down things that Collier is saying because all of a sudden he is funny just like Landry! I don't know how he got big so quickly, but he has been cracking us up the past few weeks! He has the sweetest little personality, and he is getting to be such a chatty Cathy!

 

-When I ask Collier to do something, he has started responding, "I can't! I'm too very busy!"

 

-Every time he picks up my phone, he clicks on the camera because he wants to look at pictures. When the camera pops up, he says, "Say cheese mommy!" Then, he snaps a random pictures and says (every.single.time), "OH! That's the greatest!"

 

-He combines the words band-aid and bandage and calls them band-ages.

 

-Landry has been telling everyone that she is about to be 4 next week. Collier likes to chime in and say, "Well, I'm about to be 5!" :)

 

-Another way he doesn't want to be outdone by his sister...

She has been showing off her outfits to the ladies at the front desk of the hotel. Every morning, they want to see what she is wearing. She ran around the counter and said, "Look at my Sophia shoes!" yesterday morning. Collier quickly ran around there too and said, "Look at my regular shoes!" :)

 

-He is starting to figure out all of the names in our family. When we ask him what his whole name is, he says, "Collier! Micah Collier Gibsum." I love the way he says Gibson. :) He knows Micah's name, but he says my name is Mommy Gibsum.

 

-I was reading Collier a book the other night about a mother and son elephant. In the story the mommy had to leave, and it was talking about them being able to feel each other's love while they were apart. Collier cuddled up tightly with me and asked, "Mommy, you feel my love?"

Melt me.

-He loves to laugh and tell me, "Mommy, you're a mess!" or "You're a silly goose!"

 

Two of my favorites...

 

-Collier is rough with Bretton. He loves him SO much, but it is hard for him to be gentle. Here is our daily conversation...

Collier: "Mommy! Breb is crying!"

Me: "Why, what happened?"

Collier: "I not know."

Me: "Did you do something?"

Collier: "Yes...I not want a spankin!"

Me: "What did you do?"

Collier: "I bite him/pinch him/squeeze him/take his bottle. I sorry Breb!"

Seriously, this happens all the time. He admits exactly what happened after denying it and protesting for no spanking. :)

 

-Collier: "Excuse me."

Me: "Did you toot?"

Collier: "No, I burped."

Me: "You burped out of your booty?"

Collier: "Yep, my booty burped!"

:)

 

 

An update is coming soon about how we are handling life in the hotel...1 week down, 4 or 5 to go supposedly! I don't think I've even blogged about why we are out of the house, so I've got a lot to catch up on!  

Horse Races

Last weekend Micah and I were able to get away for our first weekend alone since Bretton has been born. We went to the horse races in Hot Springs with my Dad and step-mom...it was so much fun! We've gone several years now with them, and it's always a good time! I grew up around horses, and my Dad still has several. Not race horses, but it is still fun to hear him talk about the horses that are racing and watch he and Micah make crazy bets. :)

 

 Thank goodness for my Mom and step-dad! They are always willing to help, and my mom takes on 3 kids like it isn't a big deal. The kids love going to her house, and they didn't act like they missed us much when we got home. :) My mom always sends me a bunch of pictures, and that always helps when we are away! She's even committed to watching them all again for double the time when we go on a work trip for Micah in May. I am seriously spoiled with her help, and I don't take that for granted. :)

 

 

We laughed a ton and ate some really great food while we were away. My Dad is a hoot, and we don't get to spend nearly enough time with them. I'm thankful for these weekends full of memories.

 

As far as the races and betting went, we were total losers. BUT, we had fun, and that's what matters, right? :)

 

Already looking forward to next year!