The Thornton Family

Take Two

2012-01-19T21:24:00.002-06:00

Bath Time Performance!

2012-01-19T21:13:00.003-06:00

Sorry, this is all out of wack
but there on here.
If they won't open for some reason
(like, because I don't know what the heck I'm doing)
then I'll email it if you really want to see.

Allie can count to 10 on her own.
She can go a little further with help -
mostly she just mumbles after 10,
but she's getting there.
I'm not sure what language she's speaking
when she says "seven",
but she says the same thing every time so I'm assuming
that's just how her little brain processes the word.
She wouldn't count past 8 because she was a bit
distracted with the bath toys and the phone/camera.

Then, Jake had to get in on the action when I
tried to get Allie to sing
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star......

Project 366 Rewind {Week #2}

2012-01-16T21:30:00.006-06:00

I started this on Monday
with very good intentions of getting it
posted no later than Tuesday.

It's now Thursday night.

But we've all been a bit under the weather,
so I'm not going to apologize this time for being late.
Tuesday night I gave/took 12 meds to the
sickest 3/5 of us,
and I'm pretty sure the others took something at some point -
that's a lot of pill poppin'!

Anyway, I didn't stick to the "Chilly" theme this past week
but here are a few pics anyway...

There's an awesome Children's Museum in Jackson
that opened about 18 or so months ago.
I'm a big slacker and just haven't gotten around to taking the kids.
One of Jake's school friend's had his party there Friday
so we got a chance to go check it out for free!

We WILL go back!
And, it just occurred to me that I only got
pictures of Allie.
Jake was off doing his own thing with his friends
while I chased Allie around
and took her for her first public restroom potty experience.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our sweet baby girl
is wearing big girl panties!
(Well, actually, she's wearing Jake's undies that no longer fit him.)
I think she could have "milked" this cow all day.

Now, to try and upload some video footage of Allie counting.....
That's right, in panties AND can count!

Project 366 Rewind {Week #1}

2012-01-09T20:40:00.008-06:00

Okay. So, I officially suck at the daily posting.
I saw this on a friend's blog, so we're gonna do this a little different.

It's going to be a weekly rewind.
On Monday, I'll post pics from the previous week.
Each week, there is supposed to be a theme but I didn't know that in time.

This week's theme should have been "Fresh Starts".
A good friend got married Saturday,
so I guess this pic goes with the theme.

The rest are from the wedding, but they're of Jake and Allie.
Austin was at band practice from 9-5, so he missed out.

I promise I will do my best to sneak a pic of him weekly.

Jake found a "turtle belly".
I carried it around all day in my back pocket because he wanted to keep it.
There are very few people I would do something that gross for.

This little girl thinks she's so grown......

The property where the wedding was held was so pretty.
I loved this tree!

Allie and Jake loved their first time on a trampoline.

Maybe Santa will have to bring one next year.

Next week's theme is "Chilly".
Not sure how that's gonna go with temps in the 60's....

2:365

2012-01-02T21:49:00.003-06:00

Allie having a "nack".
This girl always wants a snack!!

Terry was given a 5 gallon bucket of popcorn at work -
I'm not sure what Allie is going to eat when this is gone.
Multiple times a day she gets a bowl, walks to the bucket and says,
"I own sum".
Things can get ugly quick if you don't open the bucket quick enough!

1:365

2012-01-02T21:44:00.002-06:00

This is officially my first post for "Project 365".
Although this one is a day late (and was actually taken on Dec. 31),
I'm hoping to keep it up and take (and post) a picture
every day this year.

Jake blowing out his candles at his 4th birthday!

Here's to a GREAT 2012!!!!!!

Nature Nuts - Home Sweet Home

2011-11-21T15:07:00.013-06:00

The week before Thanksgiving was the last of
Nature Nuts for the year.
Jake and Allie were the only "nuts" there this time,
and it couldn't have been more fun!

We talked about (and looked for)
Animal Homes.

Before we started our search for animal homes,
we made a house of our own.
Out of bamboo.

Then, the real fun began!

As soon as they were given the go-ahead,
the kids were off!

Some of us wondered off the path a few times,
but that's ok -
there are no real rules at the Nature Center...

I think Allie had more fun than she's ever had.

Usually when we go places she's strapped in the stroller
or constantly being told "no" or moved
away from an unsafe area/activity.

But on this particular day, she was set free!
Free to do whatever she wanted!

I think she was a little concerned at first.
She kept turning around making sure she was still in the "safe zone".

That lasted to the end of the walkway.

It was fun to have Jake guess who/what lived in all the "homes".
This was a spider home.

There were also lots of other fun things to be found -
like this "purple tree", as Jake called it.

I just love seeing things through his eyes!

Along with Mr. John, The Nature Center Director,
there was a lady from The MS Wildlife something-or-another
walking around with us.

Although I've told Jake to never ever touch mushrooms that we don't buy from the store,
Wildlife Lady said it was ok to touch these.
Great!
I wonder how long before they're eating the ones in our yard?......

We found "cereal flake" mushrooms, "umbrella" ones and "sea shell" ones.

We also found a heart.
Do you see it?

Our kids aren't afraid of much.
I've yet to decide if that's a good thing or not.

We came across a "home" in a tree trunk.
Mr. John asked Jake if he knew what might live in it.
Jake said, "It's prwobaly a snake home."
Allie replied, "Nake!"

And then stuck her had right in the hole......
Fortunately, the only thing she pulled out was a handful of dirt and leaves.

We found "da biggest leafs on da earf".

We walked the trails for about 90 minutes.
It was so much fun watching them explore nature.
I'm so glad Terry found this program for us to go to,
and we can't wait for next March for it to start back!
Until then,
we'll just have to go find some moss patches on our own....

Talk This Way - an update

2011-11-02T15:05:00.009-05:00

Allie is 18 (and a half) months now,
and talking up a storm!
Daily, she's saying new words.
Yes, I said words - plural.
For the past two weeks or more,
she's added 2 or more to her vocabulary each day!

Call me biased, but I think she's pretty smart! :)

Here are a few things she started saying recently:

ni ni - night night
i dit chew - i'm gonna get you
jew - juice
i own - i want
dat - that
(We hear "I own dat" quite often)
gaagee - glasses
op - top
ow - out
ha - hat
daw - dog
(Every animal is a dog that says "hee-haw")
moo - moon, move (they sound slightly different)
mama
mommy
dada
daddy
meme
memaw - mamaw
babaw - grandpaw
di dawg - Big Dog
day - Jake
uh yu you - I love you
bapple - apple
nana - banana
boo - boo, when playing peek-a-boo
be (short e) - bed
be (long e) - blankie
baby
aww wee - lovie (a little burp cloth she carries)
no - no, nose
air - hair
tee - teeth, toothbrush
er - ear
be-e (short e, then long) - belly
(If she sees anyone getting dressed, she HAS to touch their belly.)
ba-e - potty
(And, she goes to the potty quite often! Yay!)
boo-boo - she points to her knee or head when saying this.
She recently had a bo-bo on her knee and Jake had one on his head.
goo-key - cookie
book
ne up - clean up
nack - snack
gar - car
e bain - airplane
dowl - cold
bowl
ha - hot, yuck
owin - orange
ne - dance
gah-ger - cracker
geeze - cheese (for cheese of any kind and when she sees the camera)

The list could be twice this long, but these are the more recent and most frequently used.

Anyone that is going to be around her in the near future should

probably study this list.
I'm pretty sure Allie will test you.
She also likes to sing.
She can sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' like nobody's business!

I've been trying to get it on video, but she's a bit camera shy.
She's getting pretty good at her 'ABCs' and 'Ba-Ba Black Sheep'.
And, she sings along with 'Thomas the Train'.
Hopefully, she won't become as obsessed with Thomas as Jake is...

Allie continues to be a not-so-good sleeper,
but she's a great helper.
She loves to clean up her toys, take clothes to the laundry,
unload the dishwasher.
She even attempted to put clothes on hangers yesterday!
They didn't stay, but she saw the hangers and pile of clothes
and knew what needed to be done.
I'm pretty sure she won't be willing to do these things in 10 years
when I'm wanting her to tho.
Oh well. It's cute to watch now.

While going thru some baby clothes yesterday,
I found a dress that Allie wore last Fall.

Aren't those arms and that (nearly) bald head just the cutest!

Allie has grown a good bit since these pictures were taken 1 year, 1 week and 1 day ago.
But, the dress looked like it would still fit her....
And it does! I'm so glad we'll get another season out of this $3 consignment shop find!
Still just as cute, huh?
And she's (almost) to the point of needing a barrette at all time.
Time to stock up on BIG bows! HA!
While I was setting up the pumpkins,
this is what Allie was doing....
That's her baby doll stroller, Jake's bike helmet and Austin's football.
And that's her personalty - from girly girl to tom boy in a split second.
(The sun was BRIGHT and right on top of us - this would have been a great pic, otherwise.)

And, after the pumpkin pics
she went straight to dirtin'!

She is her brother's sister, that's for sure!

(My apologies for the long post, but this was more for my documentation.)

Technically Speaking

2011-10-31T14:33:00.006-05:00

Technically speaking,
these photos are "not good".

They're blurry.

They're out-of-focus.

The lighting isn't great.

But, the moment they shared and me getting to witness it......
priceless!

(And yes, they're in their new Christmas jammies on Halloween. What's your point?)

Nature Nuts - Colors and Fall

2011-10-27T15:58:00.011-05:00

This is two months of NN in one post.

The first was all about color.
The kids had to find all the brightly colored critters
hidden in the leaves and grass.

Then we walked around and talked about all the colors we see in nature.

And how some things change colors.

Jake didn't get too excited about the next activity -
it actually ended up being my project.

We made "nature bracelets".
We wrapped masking tape (sticky side out) around our arms
and stuck things from nature to it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last month, we painted pumpkins and talked about fall.

This was Allie's 1st time to be let loose with a paint brush.....

She couldn't have been happier!

Afterwards,
we went outside to the newly fenced in area they call
"The Pretend Forest".

It's a new play are designed so that the kids can kinda run around and do their own thing
without the parents having to worry about the kids going too far.

We raked,
threw leaves,
found spider homes,

and swung like Tarzan!

Jake really got a kick out of swinging on the vine!
And, there may or may not be footage of me and Allie swinging -
but I'll never tell......

This Finish Line

2011-10-05T10:23:00.002-05:00

Jake was reading Allie's Gideon Bible this morning.
He was mostly mumbling, moving his little fingers across the pages as he went along
and wasn't really saying real words.
I happened to be walking past as he was finishing
and this is what he said...

"An da Anjuls will take you to da finish line and you will see Jesus!"

I was hoping that by the time I typed this
(and I did so cus I don't want to forget it),
that I would have some profound comment -
but I got nothin'!
I mean, really, is there anything you can add to that......?

Nature Nuts - Birds

2011-09-13T16:10:00.007-05:00

This month, well, June (I think)
was all about birds!

It also happened to be during one the Nature Centers
Summer Camps, so there were lots of extra (older) kids.

There was also a gentleman there that does wood carvings,
so we were able to check out some of his work.

Neat, huh?

We took our regular walk down to the pond
were we saw many dragonflies.

Then we went inside where it was MUCH cooler.

Jake had to check out the shells like he does every month.

"I can hear da ocean!"

Then, we all gathered around to see the birds!

Jake could hardly contain himself!
He snuck around the cages before "The Bird Lady"
walked in and knew that she had an owl.
Owls are one of his favorites!

Jake said the owl "looks evil"
I agree.

Hopefully I'll have another post up soon.
I know I've become very lazy with updating,
but life is busy....

Aaaaaand, she's off!!

2011-09-08T12:54:00.003-05:00

Our baby girl is off to "school"!

There may have been a tear shed.
Or, it may have just been allergies.
I'll never say for sure.

It's just for 5 hours.
One day a week.

But, it's going to take some getting used to.

We went for a test run Tuesday
and Allie loved her room.
I'm sure she's going to have a blast!

She even got a new back pack and lunch box
for this special occasion.

She just looks like such a big girl!

I learned, Tuesday, that she's the only girl in her class
so I'm not sure how much this is going to help with
her rottenness - it'll be just like being at home for her!

Christmas in July

2011-08-22T21:21:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know it is now August.

These pictures are from July.

Jake likes to help pick out Allie's jommies sometimes.
A few weeks ago,
in the middle of July,
when it was 1oo degrees outside,he picked out these.....

His old snowman jommies that I was saving for her to wear this winter.

Oh well, she seems to like them just fine.

And don't let the Tonka trucks fool you.
I'm pretty sure that right after I took these pictures
she was totin' a purse, fussin' for me to put some shoes on her
and pullin' a dress out of the closet.
She's got both the tom-boy and girly-girl covered already.

Nature Nuts - Frogs

2011-08-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

Month Two
was all about frogs.

We read a book about where frogs live.
Little Frog was trying to find his home
and kept hopping up to different animal homes.

The first page of each new animal would only show the eyes and part of the "home".
(Not surprising to me) Jake knew every animal before the page was turned.
Mr. John, the teacher, was very impressed.

After the story,
we walked to the pond to look for frogs and tadpoles.

Mr. John even introduced Allie to tadpoles.

After tadpole huntin', we moved to the shade for some music.

Mr. John has a tackle box full of fun instruments.

The kids had a blast dancing around!

We were ready for some lunch after all that dancing!
So, off to the house we went for some grilled cheese!

(This is a horse, if you can't tell.)

Back to School

2011-08-16T15:23:00.005-05:00

It's 'Back to School' time
and back to (somewhat of) a schedule.

Austin stared 8th grade last week.
Eighth grade!!
That just sounds crazy!

He does great in school,
but doesn't like school.
The only thing he's excited about is the Band trip in April....

Jake, on the other hand, was super excited about starting a new school today!

But not so much about taking a picture.

Jake went to "school" last year, but it was really just play time.
Terry and I decided he needed more structure
and some actual learning time.
So, this school year, he's going to pre-K3 at a local church.

The first day was a success!
He's already learned his weekly Bible verse.
"God made airytang an iiiiit waaaaas GREAT!"

"And God saw all that he had made and it was very good."
Gen 1:31

I thought he might be more excited about a picture once we made it to school...
apparently not.

Turns out, no one was interested in taking pictures.

Cousin Riann is going to school with Jake this year.
She didn't want her picture taken either,
but she did at least look at the camera.

Austin has some tough classes this year that will require a little
more time from both of us at home,
and Jake will have a little bit of "homework" too.
It's sure to be a fun school year!

Oh, and if anyone is wondering....
During my 2 mile walk (yay, me!) after dropping Jake off this morning,
it hit me that I didn't cry when I dropped him off!
Dropping Allie off for her 1st day of "school" in 3 weeks is sure to be a different story.....

It's a bird! It's a plane!

2011-08-12T18:35:00.002-05:00

It's Super Man!!!!!!!!!

15 months

2011-07-24T21:02:00.008-05:00

I know it's been a while (3 months?) since I've done a monthly post on Allie.
She's doing so much these days, so I decided it was past time to update.
I don't scrapbook (I wish I did), so this is the only way I have to keep up with
and remember things.

Allie has become such a "big girl".
And we're really starting to see alot of the differences in raising a girl.
We knew there would be (the obvious) differences,
but she's just such a.... well, a girl!
(But she still plays with trucks.)
Allie is very affectionate.
She will give kisses on command, and often she'll do it on her own.
Jake goes down for afternoon nap before Allie, and when she sees me getting
his mat ready she comes to his room to give him a kiss.
It really is the sweetest thing - and Jake loves it!
He will let me know if she forgets!

She loves to clean up!
She can make a mean mess,
but when we say the words, she's a cleanin' machine!
When she hears me open the dishwasher, she comes running.
She thinks she's the only one that can unload the silverware.
She hands me each one - one. at. a. time. - and says,
"heeeee-eeerrr", with each piece she hands me.

Allie-ese consists of about 6 words right now:

heeeee-eeerrrr:
when she's handing you something and sometimes when she wants what you have.
uh-oh:
said when she drops (and sometimes throws) something. this was her first word - jake's too.
na, no, noooo:
she understands ALOT and will quite often respond with "no" when we ask her questions.
ma-ma
da-da
me-me:
this is what we call my mom, but she's never said it to her. she just started saying it a few weeks ago and says it at the most random times.

She can sign "more" - not properly, but we know what it means.

Also, today, she responded with, "bees", when I told her to say please.
And I heard her say, "daw-daw", when I told Jake that today was Big Dog's birthday.
(Happy Birthday Big Dog!)

Allie is about this close to really talking.
And we have to be careful of the things we say,
because she understands about 80% of it.
FYI - if you don't want to go outside, don't say the word "out"!
She will be standing at the door screaming before you know it!
And sitting still?
You can pretty much forget it unless she's strapped down.

That's the reason that lots of pictures of her are slightly
out of focus these days.
She is such a bundle of energy -
and still a very happy baby...for the most part.

I just can't believe how big she's getting!
Here she is the day after she was born...
And here she is, 15 months later, in the same gown...

And her feet,
they're still just the cutest little feet in the world!

Nature Nuts - Butterflies

2011-07-15T16:15:00.009-05:00

Clinton Community Nature Center
has a program for preschool aged children
called 'Nature Nuts'.
There is probably not a better term to describe Jake.
He loves anything outdoors.

We had to miss the first month because Jake and Allie
woke up with fever. :(

I know I'm late in posting about this,
so I'm going to try to post one each week to catch up....
on second thought,
let's say every two weeks.
I've slacked up a bit with the blogging and need to slowly get back into it.
(I also have 6 weeks worth of Livingston Market posts.....)

Anywho -

April was all about butterflies.
The "Butterfly Lady" read The Very Hungry Caterpillar
and another book about butterflies,
then we moved on to the fun stuff....

Jake has wanted to pick up every little critter he finds since starting Nature Nuts.

Jake taking a rest with the "Butterfly Lady".
We've seen her around town several times, and that's how
he always addresses her.

The pond is right next to the Butterfly Garden,
so we had to check it out too.

As we were leaving, we found some butterfly eggs on the milkweed.
That was the highlight of the day, for me.

Miss Manners

2011-07-01T14:12:00.009-05:00

I'm pretty sure that Miss (Mrs.?) Manners
would not agree with Allie's eating style.

Isn't there a 'rule' about not putting more in your mouth than you can chew??

And one about not playing with your food??

This girl will eat anything!

She's gotten to the point where she wants to do it all herself.

So things tend to get a little bit messy at dinner time,

but she's usually happiest when she's eating...

So, for now, we can no longer skip a bath "since she didn't play outside today".

Instead, she immediately gets a bath after (most) meals.

I'm White As A Storm Trooper

2011-06-24T13:36:00.000-05:00

The littles had already eaten their lunch.
Allie was running around the house being silly.
Jake was outside running off some energy before nap.
Austin and I were having a peaceful lunch of leftover fajitas that Austin cooked the night before.

Everyone was happy.
No one was doing anything they shouldn't......
or so I thought.

As I prepared my second fajita,
Austin calmly asked,
"Mom, what does Jake have all over him?"

I thought to myself,
'Oh, Lord, do I even want to look out there?'

I finally braved a quick peek,
then I grabbed the camera.

He wasn't in any harm,
and I knew he would have something funny to say.
And I wanted to document it.

As usual, he didn't close the door all the way so he didn't hear me come out
so I started clicking....

Then he looked up.

"I'm as white as a storm trooper, Mama!"

I guess you can never use too much sun lotion.

A friend asked what my reaction was.
What's to react about?
He put sun lotion on while playing in the sun.
I've been telling him for months that we have to do that.
My 'reaction' was to turn on the water hose and tell him he needs to wash off before he comes in.

So, big deal, we'll have to buy more sun screen a little sooner than planned.

I much prefer this over finger painting with butt paste during nap time.
Not that Jake would ever do something like that,
but if he did,
I'm sure it would be a much bigger mess to clean up....

Proud

2011-06-14T14:22:00.005-05:00

Although we have to tell Austin multiple times a day/week
to clean up his room/shoes/wet towels, take out the trash,
bring in the trash cans, etc., etc., etc.....
He really is a great kid!
And he makes us so proud!

But I wish he wouldn't run from the dang camera all the dang time!
Oh well....

This past school year (7th grade! yikes!),
he joined the National Junior Honor Society,
was on the A/B Honor Roll all year,
and received the President's Award for Academic Achievement.

He's such a slacker! Ha!

He said he 'forgot' to tell me about awards day,
but I think it was on purpose cus he didn't want me taking pictures.
So, that's why there are no pictures of awards day. :)

Anyway.
Not only is he a good student,
he's always making us proud with his Boy Scout advancements/achievements.

He has been the Patrol Leader for his patrol for 3 of 5 "terms" since he has bridged up.
His leaders have told me on many occasions that Austin is one of the first
(if not the first)
to step up when they need something.

It gets kinda hard for me to hold back the smiles sometimes...

Within weeks of Austin bridging up to the troop,
the Scout Master told me that he knew Austin would be
Senior Patrol Leader one day - and probably one of the younger ones.

Because of the leaderships qualities that Austin presents,
SM Kevin recommended that he attend
National Youth Leadership Training this year
since it was being held in our district.
(He only recommended 5 of the 50-something scouts, but only 3 went.)

So, the first week of summer break, Austin spent 8 days
at Camp Hood to attend NYLT.

I have to admit, tho - Austin was not extremely excited about going.
It might have had something to do with tent camping in 100 degree weather with
crazy Mississippi summer bugs.
I'm not sure....

Big Dog (Daddy) rode down with me for the closing ceremony.
When I introduced myself to Austin's leader for the week,
he told me that Austin "is a great scout".

Again, holding back the smiles...

We had to walk into the woods....
next to a pond....
under old pine trees....
for the ceremony.

The wind was blowing.
The pine trees were swaying.
And cracking.
Then it started to rain.
Not fun.

But it was another proud moment,
so I would gladly do it a hundred more times!

Because of the rain,
I didn't get many pictures -
but was able to manage a few at the end.
It's tradition at the end of NYLT courses to invite each participant to toss an evergreen sprig into the campfire as a sign of rededication to the guidance of the Scout Oath and Law.

Austin didn't come home with us after the closing of NYLT.
As I mentioned several months ago,
Austin was up for OA election.
OA (Order of the Arrow) is kind of an Honor Society
within Boy Scouts.
You have to go on so many camp outs, show Scout Spirit, have overall good attendance,
among other requirements to be eligible for election.
Once you've met all requirements,
you have to survive the "tap out" camp out.
Austin said it wasn't as a big a deal as the leaders make it sound.
On the last night of the camp out,
the candidates are secretly told if they've made it or not.

Austin made it.

So...
After 6 days of NYLT,
Austin stayed at Camp Hood for two more days of camping for the
OA Ordeal.
This is the final step in the induction process.

He said they worked HARD for two days and ate next to nothing...
until the last night when they ate like kings!

I don't have any pictures of the closing for OA,
because we were not invited to the closing.
This is a very secretive, non-secret organization.
If you're not a member of the OA,
you can't be around for any part of their meetings.

Oh well, maybe I can sneak a picture of him in his sash.

Now, to go pack him for a week of camping in Arkansas......

(and i promise not to be so long between posts for now on.)

Thankyou!

2011-05-30T12:46:00.003-05:00

A BIG THANK YOU

to all our service men and women!

Happy Memorial Day!

Country Livin'

2011-05-28T14:52:00.006-05:00

I started this post two weeks ago.
It's been almost three weeks now since I took the little kids to Cleveland for a few days.

I'm evidently not a very attentive parent cus I didn't know when Austin's last day of school was when I planned this trip - so he couldn't go with us.

As if he didn't already love the outdoors.......

After three days in Cleveland at Pop and Granny's house,
Jake has truly become an outdoors country boy!

There was more dirtin' and explorin' than any child could do in such a short time.

He verbed this dirt pile to death!
He climbed up
slid down
dug in
jumped off
and, well, you get the picture.

There was even a little "King ub da Mountain" to be played with the great aunts.

He chased (and caught) crickets and grasshoppers.

Watched tractors and airplanes.

He even had his own personal/portable sandbox.

Jake had a blast, to say the least.
He even slept late for several days in a row after we got back.
I guess he was worn out.

And he's only asked 63 times when we're going back.
Further proof that he might have enjoyed himself just a bit.

(Somehow, I didn't get the first picture of Allie. My apologies.)

Hopefully I can get the "Austin" post finished by the end of the weekend.
It's a bit overdue.

For Mature Audiences Only

2011-05-27T16:45:00.004-05:00

I said he could play in the puddle.....

Pop said he didn't need to get in the puddle with his clothes on.....