Sarah's parenting 101

Always kiss goodnight.
Pick your battles.
Eat breakfast for dinner.
Be silly.
Put whip cream on strawberries.
Read to them.


Tell them they're wonderful.
Tell them to man up.
Hold them tight.
Let them go.
Sing talk.
Play dress up.
Have your own language.
Make traditions.


Bribe them.
Please and thank you.
Get messy.
Let them help cook.
Take long walks.


Snuggle them.
Say "I love you" a thousand times a day.
Scavenger hunts.
It's okay to cry.
It's not okay to whine.
Nobody has the answers.
Make schedules.
Be flexible.
Go on dates.
Breathe.
Laugh.
Say "I love you" a billion times a day.



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The Little Things

Sometimes we need to take a break and just remember it's the little moments in life that mean the most...
Like a picnic with daddy...

Like supermanning on the swings...


Like tucking in 37 stuffed animals...


Like finding a really big stick...


Like a kiss on the cheek...


Like having a tea party!



Like your baby girl's first school picture...


Like a little peace and quiet in the car :)






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Leah's Lingo

Dropping Leah off at school today she gibes Chase a kiss and looks at me and says, "mommy, make sure to keep my brother safe while I'm gone!"

Then she goes to her friend's and sits down and I watched her for a minute and she said "mommy...it's time for you to go now!" and blew me a kiss.

We were playing outside and she picked a dandelion...squeezed her eyes shut and said..."I wish... I could go to the doctor!" and then blew. Lol what kid loves the doctor? Mine.



Chase's words:
Ya (yea..he says that a lot)
No (and he scrunches his face up)
Obviously momma and dada
Dog, cat, meow and woof woof
Moo and horse sounds
Apple
Broke (broken...we get that one a lot because he's destructive)
Wow wow (wubzy)
Rock (loves this word too)
Ew yuck!
ball
Bug

Lol and tons more...he's a chatterbox!


















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Leah's Lingo

Me: Leah, what do you want for dinner tonight?
Leah(like a teenager): mom... have NO idea.


The other day we were playing up in leah's room and I could tell she was tired but didn't want to take a nap. "mom I'm taking a nap but just for pretend, ok?" I agreed and she got under her covers with her baby "pretending" to sleep. Well her pretend nap quickly turned into a real nap ;)

Me: Leah it's time for bed.
Leah: mom! I'm working!







Tim worked his first 24 hour shift today since we've been here.
Leah didn't want me to sleep alone so she insisted I sleep with one of her babies...






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You may remember my "not so rosy" post when Leah was about 18 months and had Roseola. Well last weekend we had round 2 of the Roseola virus for the Vanderhoff kids. We were at the beach and Chase just wasn't acting like his normal self. He was fussy (well ok that's normal) but he wasn't eating (red flag!!) and he was very tired. Then he started spiking fevers and slept most of the day.

Poor little Bubs just wasn't feeling good. I suspected it was probably just Roseola because we had gone through this with Leah and he had no other symptoms. He just wanted lovies so that's what we did.



The day after we got home from the beach house, he woke up with the Roseola rash and that confirmed it! The virus was over and Chase was back to normal again....with polka dots!



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Little cabin in the woods...

So last weekend my parents offered to watch the kids for the weekend and send us off to their cabin 3 hours away in Deep Creek. My response? Heck yea! It was a great weekend full of relaxation, hot tubs, wine, and some good old fashioned fun ;)

We slept in until who knows when...ate at the cutest little truck stop for breakfast (or lunch?) both days. We went horseback riding through the woods and had drinks at a lakeside bar. It was so nice to get away for awhile and we came home very refreshed to our babies. Thanks mom and dad!!








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Chase turns one!

On Thursday, my little bubba (aka bam-bam) turned ONE!! I keep hearing "where did the time go" and "he's one already?!" but honestly GOOD GRIEF! This has been one of the longest years of my life and I feel like he should be turning 3 or 4 already! (not that I'm wishing time away at all!) Between the colic (incessant crying for no reason), waking up every 2 hours until umm last week, and us moving all the way across the country, it has been one grueling and eventful year! But I'm pleased to say that our little man is blossoming and developing quite the personality. He is SO smart...you can almost see his entire thought process when he is thinking or wanting something. He points at everything and his current words are: dada, bo (boat), key (kitty), prit (pretty), and up. Still not mommy!!! But he does call me "prit" so I guess that's okay ;)

He is finally sleeping all night and he thinks Leah is SO funny. He loves to be outside and loves wagon rides. And he absolutely adores his daddy. When Tim walks in the door his whole face lights up and he immediately reaches for him. We just love this little guy!!! Happy birthday, Chase Timothy!!















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Leah's lingo

The other morning I was taking a shower while Chase napped and Leah was playing quietly in my room. When I got out of the shower, Leah was putting everything on the floor into my laundry baskets. "look mommy! I cleaned up for GiGi! (my grandma) so she can come visit! It's all clean for her!"
Too precious!!!

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Quick update

Well we have been in Maryland for over 2 months now and I have zero time to blog but I thought I would do a quick update. The weather is turning warmer and we spend A LOT of our time playing outside on the swings and down on the beach and taking walks.

Leah turned 3 this weekend! She had the best time...she went to the movies with Tim in the morning then came home and made cupcakes with me and crafts with Aunt Lynda and then her cousins Olivia and Connor came over for a little party.



Tim only has 2 weeks left in training academy and then life will "sort of" be back to normal again. It's hard not having him here but nice having my mom and dad around to help too.

Chase is sleeping better...as long as I sleep in the bed with him!



He is 11 months now and the handsomest little guy! He is starting to babble and learning some sign language. So far he can say "more" in signs and says "daddy" "boat" "keykey" (kitty) and "up" but still doesn't say "mama!"


My business is booming. April has been my biggest month to date with over 130 orders! A local store has even started selling some of my items which is very exciting.
All in all we are doing great here. Missing our Yuma family of course and looking forward to Grandma's visit in June!






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Getting Settled

It's been over a month since I last blogged. It has been a CRAZY month. We moved! We have been in Maryland now for 2 weeks. The kids are getting settled and we are almost finished unpacking all of our boxes! Tim started his 10 week fire academy that he has to go through before he can start working at PG County. Besides traffic, I think he is getting adjusted too.
My business is up and running again and busier than ever. I have a lot of new connections over here and it's wonderful! I'm starting to get into a day-to-day rhythm. We are LOVING being outside and all of the wonderful things to do over here!
Chase took awhile to get adjusted to his new sleeping arrangements, and after a few nights of screaming ALL NIGHT LONG, I finally gave in and now let him sleep in bed with me. He is sleeping snug as a bug tucked in next to mommy, and we are all getting sleep which = happier family!
Felony (the dog) is doing good. She hasn't even tried to eat any of the cats yet, and is even friends with my brother's dog, Oscar!
All in all it's been so far so good!

xoxo

Single Moms...

Need more credit!! I have been "single parenting" over the last few weeks with Tim traveling back and forth to Maryland to get things squared away with his new job and when he's here he's working. Single moms don't get enough credit! It's hard! I'm so lucky that I have a wonderful husband who is very helpful and that I don't have to do this on a regular basis! So for all you single moms out there.. you are officially my heroes!



I finally took the kids to Grandma's house today so I could get SOMETHING, ANYTHING accomplished without 4 arms and legs crawling all over me. I was able to get my whole closet sorted through of Goodwill/Yard Sale stuff and then packed everything else that was coming with us to Maryland. I vacuumed the entire house, took a 20 minute HOT shower and dried and straightened my hair. When I got out of the shower it was the most beautiful sound - silence! I'm so thankful for those few hours spent at Grandma's house today and when the kids came home they were exhausted and ready for bed! And I'm going to bed early to catch up on much needed rest!

Xoxo

Laughter is the best medicine...

Just ask my kids!! *side note: I was NOT driving while filming this, I was sitting in line at the ATM. Leah was just saying "what's that!" to Chase and he CRACKED up...

It's Official!

After 7 long years, my time here in Arizona is coming to an end. Tim accepted a position working as a firefighter at Prince George's County Fire Dept in Maryland and so we'll be packing up and heading east within the month! I am BEYOND ecstatic. We have been talking about moving since we have been married. I feel like we talked about it almost every day and now it's FINALLY here. I don't really know how to react. It's bittersweet. We have made some really great friends here, who I will cherish forever. Tim's family is here, but hopefully his mom and dad will be joining us on the east side soon after we get settled. I have a lot of fond memories here, but I'm ready for the new chapter in our lives to begin. I came to Arizona for a reason. Their names are Tim, Leah, and Chase. God knows what He's doing when He leads us to new places, and this is no exception. We're jumping in head first into this new adventure and we couldn't be more excited.. more terrified... more anxious.. and more thrilled about where this journey will take us. Stay tuned for more. Xoxo.


This picture portrays exactly how I feel. The sun is setting on our time here. We're looking out into the great unknown. Just the 4 of us. Holding on to one another and ready to watch the sun rise on a new adventure in our lives.

My Not-So-Little Monster

Chase's Milestones

Thought I would write them down while I still remember!

6 months: Sitting up, Bottom 2 teeth came in together
7 months: Army crawling
8 months: Crawling EVERYWHERE, pulling up on furniture, torturing sister, top 2 teeth came in together


Chase is 8 months now. He weight 29, yes 29, pounds. He's my monster. I certainly get my workout wrestling him every day. He is perpetual motion... NEVER sits still. He's in a big boy bath tub now. And he wants to pull up on EVERYTHING and try to walk. Diaper changes and getting him dressed are a feat. And he's so DARN cute!

Leah is not taking structured naps anymore... so she falls asleep randomly sometimes throughout the day. Chase takes full advantage: