Second Baptist Kids Crazy Christmas Show 12/21/09

We were invited by Summer to attend her church's Christmas show. I wasn't feeling too great and they offered to take Phoebe for me, but I didn't want to miss sharing the experience with her. So I went and I enjoyed it so much! This was one of the best performances I've ever witnessed. They changed older songs that were really popular in our day to tell the story of the birth of Jesus. We took kids ranging from 4-10 and all of them, including us adults, had a wonderful time! The parking lot wasn't crazy, we were able to pull right in and park and leave right away when it ended. We arrived almost at start time and were able to sit in the 2nd row. All of the kids could sit on the floor in front of the stage if they wanted. The program is an hour and we loved every single minute! They also gave out cookies and lemonade on your way out. Everything is free and you don't have to be a member of the church.

Here is the schedule, I'll be posting videos soon!
The picture by the Christmas trees was taken on our way out, look at those happy faces!

Phoebe's 4th Birthday Party - 12/19/2009

We celebrated Phoebe's 4th birthday at Kids in Action in Kingwood. The theme was Curious George. April made the cupcakes, the icing was shaped like bananas on each cupcake and then had a little Curious George sticking out the top. And then of course the birthday girl had a bigger George on hers. She had a blast! Maw Maw & Paw Paw came in for her party... we all had a good time!

Phoebe's Christmas Program 12/7/2009

Phoebe performing in her Christmas Program at Mother's Day Out. She did a wonderful job again! We're so proud of our girl. We love you Phoebe Jean!!

Halloween - Costume Parades & Festivals!

Phoebe's gymnastics class had a costume parade this week. All of the kids wore their costumes and walked around the gym while parents took pictures. After that, they changed into their leotards and had class.

Phoebe's Mother's Day Out class had a parade on Thursday. Nanny came to show support!

Then MawMaw & PawPaw came in Friday. Everyone wore a costume on Halloween! MawMaw was Cleopatra, PawPaw was The Man with the Yellow Hat (from Curious George), Phoebe was Curious George, Michael was Shaggy and I was Scooby Dooby Doo! We went to the Fall Festival at the church and then came home for some good ol' trick or treating! Phoebe had a blast running around with Sophie, Beau, Victoria, Lila and some other children! Me & MawMaw joined in on the trick or treating while the boys hung out by Christian.

RIP Aunt Jean

Jean Young Exnicios


(March 22, 1953 - September 29, 2009)

JEAN YOUNG EXNICIOS, AGE 56

And a resident of Mt. Hermon, LA died at 5:15 pm Tuesday September 29, 2009 at Regency hospital in Covington. She was a native and longtime resident of New Orleans and had been a resident of Mt. Hermon since 2006. Mrs. Exnicios was a former office employee of Chevron. She enjoyed spending time on the computer and gardening and was an active member of Dave’s Garden, an online gardening information community.

Survived by:

Husband: S. Richard Exnicios, III of Mt. Hermon

Sister: Tessie Gioia of Picayune, MS

Uncle: Billy Young of Florida

Also several nieces and nephews

She was preceded in death by her parents Mathias and Jean Buris Young and a brother Matt Young, Jr.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. Contact Crain Funeral Home in Franklinton for any further developing details.

Jackson's First Grooming 9.5.09

Jack had his first grooming appointment today at Dog Gone Stylin'. We dropped him off at 10:30 this morning and Phoebe started crying. She didn't understand why we were leaving him. We explained it to her and she was okay after a bit. They just called at 3 to say he was ready and we all piled in the car to go pick him up. Phoebe was so excited to pick him up. They said that he was great, he stood there the whole time. And the groomer did a fantastic job on him! But he's a little itchy because of the hair. Like Mikey said, they should cut him then give him a bath! So him and Phoebe just went upstairs and rinsed him off. He looks great though!

Halloween Costumes

We let Phoebe choose her costume this year and she picked out Curious George.


We saw the Spongebob one for dogs and had to get it for Jack...


Let's hope she'll actually enjoy this Halloween! Last year before we went trick or treating, a kid came to our door and he was wearing a scary mask, needless to say, it freaked her out and she didn't want to go anywhere! So we hung out at home. The year before last, we drove over to Nanny's to go trick or treating with them but we missed it (I can't remember why, I just know that the boys had already gone or something). So let's hope it works out this year!

9/11/09 - We finally got the SpongeBob costume on Jack, he kept biting at it though so I don't think he'll wear it for Halloween, but at least we got a picture out of it, lol!


Phoebe tried on her Curious George costume:


She also tried on her costume from 2007 and it still fit. Here is a picture we took in 2007 and one we took last week. Gosh she's grown!



And here's what she wore last year (Little Mermaid)


And in 2006:

Phoebe & Jackson Playing 8/7/09

She's singing (or trying to sing) Rock a bye baby to Jack. Can you see that we made the right decision here? Lol! This is too cute, be prepared to laugh =)

Welcome home, Jackson 8/2/09

After the "sissy doesn't love me" episode... we agreed it was time to get her a dog. Especially since we aren't having anymore children, she could use the companion.

We found a breeder in Spring, TX, we looked at their site and instantly agreed that we'd love to have Jack. They called us back and we were able to pick him up that day, Sunday, 8/2/09. They named him Jack and we thought we'd keep that name, then I called him Jackson while playing and it really fit. So we're calling him Jack for short, and Jackson when he's in trouble. :)

Phoebe broke my heart tonight

Phoebe was laying next to me and she looked like she was in a daze, thinking about something. I said "baby, what are you thinking about?" She said "Sissy doesn't love me"... I said "what do you mean, of course she loves you"... She then said "sissy won't come home to see me" and she began to cry. Oh man, that broke my heart into a million pieces. I then told her that sissy is in heaven with Jesus and she began to cry more. I thought she was too young to understand. Guess I was wrong. So so sad... She's asleep now. I'm not sure what triggered those thoughts but now it has me wondering how long she's been thinking about her Sissy.

Phoebe's 1st Haircut 6/27/09

We scheduled the appt for Phoebe to get her hair cut. We've always avoided it because of her beautiful curls. But Jenn, my hairdresser, said that her hair will be dead if we don't cut it. So her appt is scheduled for Saturday, June 27, 2009 @ 11:45am with Jenn. I was a bit nervous but I'd rather her have healthy hair. Then I started thinking, if we're going to cut it, why not do the right thing and cut it for Locks of Love.. and donate it to a child that lost her hair to cancer?? I need to run that one by the hubby but it is something we may consider. Or we may chicken out and just trim it. We'll have to see how dead it is and how much she'll need to take off first.

Phoebe was all excited to get her hair cut! Until we got there, lol. She saw the chair and didn't want to sit. She cried a little here and there but she ended up doing well overall. So we let her pick out a flower barrette and headband when she was done. And she looked so beautiful! Turns out her hair was still healthy even though we didn't touch it for 3 1/2 years! So she just needed to take about an inch off. And her hair was damp when it was done and her hair started curling up so it looks like we've still got curls! YAY!

*****CLICK ON IMAGES TO VIEW THEM LARGER*****

From Phoebe's 1st Haircut 62709

From Phoebe's 1st Haircut 62709

Visit from MawMaw & PawPaw =) June 09

MawMaw & PawPaw came in for a visit. We had lots of fun Friday night! Phoebe sang on her karaoke machine, danced and jumped around in her leotard, played SpongeBob bingo and got to sleep upstairs with them! Where they watched Scooby Doo & fell asleep. Phoebe helped me make everyone breakfast Saturday morning. We had french toast and bacon, yummy! Then we played bingo and practiced writing our letters. We all got dressed, headed to Lowe's for parts to install gutters, stopped & ate at Zachary's Cajun Cafe on the way back and then Phoebe and MawMaw took a nice long nap. I cooked Pepper Steak for everyone and Tammy and Rudy stopped over with the boys later to visit. MawMaw & PawPaw headed home on Sunday. Phoebe was sad to see them go... but we made her day when we explained that we'd see them in 2 weeks! (when we go in for Brittanie's baby shower)

Phoebe Singing =) 5/23/2009

Our little diva is definitely not shy!!



She's singing:
Jesus Loves Me
Itsy Bitsy Spider
ABC's
Fuzzy Caterpillar

Old McDonald's Farm 5/23/2009

Momma, Dadda and Phoebe took a trip to the petting zoo today. The weather was nice, it was overcast so it wasn't too hot. And we didn't wear ourselves out by staying a long time. We got there, went straight to feeding the animals, walked around, rode the choo choo... and that was it! Phoebe loved the animals (of course)... she wasn't scared (never is) and she was in a great mood (as usual)! So it was the perfect day for us! After leaving, we stopped to grab lunch and now we're back home.


I have to add that she was a little upset that she couldn't take George with her. We told her to leave him in the car because the sheep would probably want to eat him. (we were just being honest!) Hehe! And we parked in the shade so it wouldn't get too hot for George :) She was happy to be reunited with him when we were done.

Phoebe's Spring Program 5/18/09

Phoebe performed at the Mother's Day Out Spring Program. She was so excited and she did very well on stage again. I couldn't image being 3 years old and performing on stage while looking out into a crowd. The girl is brave!! :) Michael was able to make it to this one and he loved seeing her up there. We got to go see her in class after and she wanted to stay there (we gave her the option to come home or stay)... they were going to have a bday cake for someone in class so she opted to stay. :)

Gymnastics / KinderGym

We signed Phoebe up for gymnastics today! I am so excited!!! I have a feeling she's going to love it. I took her to a birthday party a few weeks ago at Kids in Action - it has a toddler gymnastics type area for them to play in. She was all over everything in there and she seemed fearless! We were thinking of putting her in Creative Dance but we both agree that she'd probably have more freedom in Gymnastics and it seems to suit her more. We'll find out though! It's an 8 week program over the summer. If she does well, we'll enroll her in the fall, if not, we'll try dance. :) Classes begin on June 8th - her first class will be on Tues, June 9th. She'll attend class once a week. We have to get her a leotard... hehe! =)

5/30/09- We got her first leotard. She tried it on and loves it! She looks sooo adorable! :)

















She began dancing around as soon as she put on her leotard!

First Trip to the Dentist

Today was Phoebe's first dentist appt and I take full responsibility for not doing my homework before taking her. The dentist was horrible. She was a pediatric dentist but you could tell that she must not have kids of her own, she was not kid friendly at all. Poor Phoebe was so upset, granted... she was tired and didn't have a nap but she was terrified. We ended up leaving the room to see if she'd calm down but she didn't. I was lucky to have work calling me with an urgency at the time because I don't think I could've handled it. While we were there, Michael thought she was just cranky from missing her nap and I thought she was probably just scared of the equipment and all that was lying around. But after we left, we had a chance to let it all sink in and realize that the dentist didn't even try to talk to Phoebe, she just came in and wanted to get straight to work. Every pediatric doctor "should" know that you can't just rush in on children... you need to be patient and give them a chance to realize you're not there to hurt them. I feel so guilty for making her sit through that. The dentist said "all 3 year olds get a cleaning from me but I could barely even brush her teeth because she was fighting me so much. You'll have to take her to a dentist that can put her to sleep to work on her teeth". Lady, I just "put my dog to sleep", don't use those words!!! Phoebe was soooo upset, her face was all broken out from screaming and straining so much. (Click on the image for a larger pic & you can see her face)..My poor baby.


So yes, I feel horrible. I have definitely learned my lesson from this and I vow to research physicians or anyone that will care for Phoebe... and I will get referrals from other parents.

Oh and pass it on... DO NOT USE JENNIFER CHUO ON GREENS ROAD IN HOUSTON!!!!!!!!!!! We also didn't know anything about the area... it ended up being the GHETTO! There were like 5 cars pulled over by police on our way back to the interstate. Everything about the experience was horrible. Phoebe, I'm so sorry baby girl.

Videos of Phoebe Singing / Performing ;)

Wheels on the Bus - 4/12/09


Hot Potato - 4/12/09


Singing on New Karaoke Machine - 4/10/09

Happy Easter!

Phoebe's class at Mother's Day Out was having an Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday, April 9th. Phoebe had to bring 12 filled plastic eggs and an Easter basket for the eggs she found. She had a blast filling the eggs with candy and she was so excited the morning of with her Easter basket. She didn't want to let it go. :)










































































On Saturday, April 11th... Town Center was having an event called Picnic on the Park. We didn't make it in time for the Easter Egg hunt because we had an appt to get our taxes done. But we did make it, she got to go see the animals at the little petting zoo. They had a baby cow, a few goats, a donkey, and in a smaller area there was a rabbit, duck, little piggy and a chicken. She pet the animals, sat next to them and took pictures of them. We then took a train ride around the area. After we got off the train we walked for a bit and she was ready to go. She didn't have a nap yet (the event was only from 10-4 so there wasn't time for a nap after our tax appt. She had fun regardless. :)

On Easter Sunday she woke up to the goodies that the Easter Bunny brought her. She got a karaoke machine and sang on it a few minutes after waking up, lol. She got the SpongeBob version of Connect Four, which she loved as well! And lets not forget about the candy! Yes, we let her have some for breakfast! :) She ate real food after though, the child has no problem eating! She takes after her mommy! Hehe! We hung out for a while then picked up around the house and got dressed and ready to head over to Summer's house. We were all meeting there for a BBQ and Easter Egg hunt. It was pouring outside so they couldn't play outside yet. They made a posterboard pin the tail on the bunny rabbit so the kids played that and enjoyed it! They all got bubbles so when it stopped raining they went outside and blew bubbles on the patio. Later on we had the Easter Egg hunt inside. We had 2, one for the older kids and one for the toddlers. It turned out great and they had a blast! The sun came out and they pretty much stayed outside the rest of the day, blowing bubbles, playing games, writing on the cement with chalk, playing hop-scotch... it was a fun filled day! And of course Phoebe had to hurt herself since she didn't have a nap. So after all was said and done, she got hurt 3 times. First her and Evan ran into each other and she fell face first into the cement, luckily she was wearing her sunglasses because she would've needed stitches for that hit! She still ended up with a big mark above her eyebrow and she screamed for a few minutes... but it could've been much worse! Then I was outside pushing her and Aidan on the swings, Phoebe decided she wanted to get down and she walked in front of Aidan and his foot hit her in the face and tossed her up a little and she fell to the ground... she's got a really rosey cheek now. So we said it's time to pack up and as we were about to walk out the door, we stopped to get her bags and she hit her arm on the corner of the glass table. Now has a red mark on her upper arm. :( So it looks like she was beat, but above all, she had a good Easter. =)