Happy birthday Hannah!

My (sometimes) sweet Nanner- banners turned 3 May 31st!!! Where on earth has time gone?!! We celebrated with family at a park- and it's grandpa's bday on June 1st so we celebrated him as well-  so that the girls could play. Looking back I really got a lot of nice pictures. I had a blast using my zoom lens and got some amazing pictures where people had no clue I was taking them- those are the best!

Randoms about Hannah:
She's cute- yep pretty stinkin cute and she KNOWS IT! HA!
She is completely potty trained- even at night!
She can also get herself buckled into her carseat now- yipeee!!!
She is by far my most stubborn child- but probably the most lovey too =)
She loves butterflies... and dirt- what a nice combination right?!
She is quite afraid of the water- mainly getting her face wet, yet surprises me all the time by asking to do things like go down the waterslide!
She is also very afraid of swings- why?? I have absolutely no clue but if you try and put her in one she screams bloody murder. That is until her bday where she would at least sit on the swing for a few minutes.

I have learned never to underestimate her and that she is by far my most stubborn child

This was taken at dinner before the park- yep too stubborn to get a nice one with mommy 

Darling baby girl 

Birthday buddies 

Funny story- Tim broke the knife cutting through the ice cream cake lol

Beautiful pic of Great grandma- even better- she's wearing Tim's hoodie! 

I love this of my dad and my niece Devynn 

I get the best smile from my mom when she's not looking 

Happy big sissy 

I am a mean mom

Fact- being a mom is HARD work!
Fact- I have 3 very independent stubborn GIRLS! (and if you think a 10 mo old can't be like that I severely beg to differ and will prove you wrong!)
Fact- I DO discipline my children and expect them to behave, listen, and grow up to be respectable adults!

Scenario yesterday:
I took the girls grocery shopping with me later in the afternoon because earlier I had done something for myself and squeeze in 30 min at the gym- I would have gone longer, but the babes was being a difficult ones- shocker right?!! This is never a good idea to encroach on dinner time, but it had to be done. My 4 yr old was being an outright turd in the store. Have you ever seen those pics floating around the internet of kids in the bottom corner of a cart with the parents groceries piled on time of them.... yep that is what I felt like doing to her.

So fast forward to home about 2 hours later. Shopping trip was NOT fun for me. Dinner is about done and 4 yr old gets very dramatic because I tell her that even if she eats all of her dinner she DOES NOT get a popsicle because of her behavior in the store... cue instant meltdown. So then I'm the "mean mommy" as she likes to call me when she doesn't get her way. Tim asks her if she wants to live with us if I'm so mean and she says no. My child didn't want to live with me anymore- and even though I know that she doesn't mean it and it just frustrated and upset it absolutely breaks my heart.

 And now I definitely understand why so many parents don't "parent" anymore- it's much easier to be your child's "friend"....

Of course all is well this morning now. She is perky and cute again after a long sleep last night, but I have definitely had a big lesson thrown in my face...

The next 20+ years are going to be some of the hardest in your life, especially as these sweet spirits get older and even more independent and stubborn. I can always be a friend to my children, but I can NEVER stop being their PARENT!!! Yep that's right I said PARENT! And if my children don't like what I"m doing then that probably means that I'm doing something right.

So to all of the other "mean mommies" out there- GOOD JOB! Every single day- 24 hrs a day- we do some of the hardest work on earth! It is far from easy, but it is SO WORTH IT!