.seaworld scare.

.thursday we headed to seaworld. Nothing different. I slept in, got the kids up, fed them breakfast, packed the seaworld bag while they ate, and than changed them and loaded them up in the car. We met up with our good friends kailee and Ella from our old ward.

.we arrived a little earlier than kailee so we sat and enjoyed a snack while sitting under a shady tree. I don't know how, but packing for seaworld is cake for me. So easy. It helps that I have a small seaworld duffle bag that I keep packed and ready to go (minus snacks). I feel very organized in this house and that helps too. Kailee always comments, how do you make it in before me with 2 kids and I can barely make it with one?. lol. The double jogging is also my best friend.

.anyways. So us Westensee fam is boring and when we go to seaworld we watch a few of the big shows and head to the water park. Why? Because it keeps my children happy. Parker is always a happy boy so no issues with him, as long as you keep up with snacks in front of him while he is in the stroller, he's awesome. Brooklynn is such a water baby it's ridiculous. Give her anything water and she is SO happy. She LOVES going down the kid water slides by herself. Loves it. And Andrew. (You didn't know I had 3 kids?) he HATES the heat (and we live in Texas... Hahaha... Where we had a mild spring and are already in the 90's everyday). Anyways, Andrew hates the heat (still laughing as I type that) and so water cools him off and keeps him relatively happy. So it's a win win.

.so since going with kailee (twice now) she has shown me other parks if seaworld. We have experienced the dolphins (the kids lay on their tummies and literally touch the water that the dolphins are jumping around in... Inches from them). We have experienced sea lions (they are very friendly and look right up at you and talk). There is an aquarium that is huge and tall and the kids stand right up at the window). And there is a playground underneath another play area. (It's pretty cool and shady).

.we went to the dolphins. We went to the aquarium. We went to the sea lions. We went to the playground. The girls were starting to get sweaty, so we figured it was splash pad time. We found a picnic bench, parked next to it, and started changing the kids in the stroller. B was antsy, so I changed her first... Note: I usually make her stay in the stroller until I am ready with Parker... This time I didn't. Mistake.

.b was climbing up a fence as I started changing Parker. I had said, "b get down, I don't want you to fall" and continued to wrestle Parker. (He loves rolling around when I change him. Finally I got his swim trunks on, turned around to find no Brooklynn.

.my heart is beating fast as I write this, and I feel sick to my stomach.

.i turned to kailee and said, "I lost Brooklynn." She was so great at being calm and positive and said,"she is right around here... We will find her"

.i too tried to be positive. She is just around the corner. I looked in the bathroom. I looked on the playground. I looked over by Elmo. I looked at the other splash pad. Nothing. No Brooklynn. The panic began to set really quick at this point. I began to rescan everything as I walked back to my stroller and grabbed my phone. A nice lady must have seen my sick-worried look on my face as she sweetly asked," are you looking for someone?"

.it took everything in me not to start cry right there. As you begin to mumble the description of your daughter you NEVER thought you would ever have to describe in your life.

."she is wearing a blue and white striped bathing suit, blue bow in her hair. Light brown hair. She is only two."

.the last began looking too.

.as I continued searching, I made a phone call I never thought I would have to make. To Andrew.

.(he was in the middle of listening to a conference call, and when I called he knew something was up. I usually only text. So he opted to answer.)

.a:"hey, what's up?"

.me:"Andrew..."

(He heard the worry in my voice)

.a:"yea...."

.me:" I lost Brooklynn, I don't know where she is."

(And I totally lost it, it felt like it had been so long since I had lady seen her beautiful face in her adorable blue bathing suit that made her blue eyes just beam with brightness).

.a:"what?!? Where are you?"

.me:"I'm at the park... I can't find Brooklynn"

(Andrew is confused at this point because our neighborhood park is right across the street and he was wondering how on earth I lost her in our small park).

.a:"what? How does this happen?"

.me:"we are at seaworld (he said this is when it hit him that it's not our small park, but seaworld a huge amusement park where millions of people come and go) I was changing the kids into their swimsuits, and Parker wasn't holding still and I was wrestling him, and turned and Brooklynn was gone."

.i knew it was time to tell an employee, and shut the park down. (When a kid gets lost, they shut the park down so people can't leave until the child is found.

.and than I heard a woman's voice," ma'am?"

.i turned around and there was the kind lady who asked if I was looking for anyone, with my baby girl in her arms.

.i quickly said,"they found her" and hung up. (Poor Andrew).

.i had tears streaming down my face. "Thank you" was all that could come out of my mouth. My stomach was still twisted in a knot, but I was holding my two babies. I didn't ask where she was or anything.. None of that mattered. I had Brooklynn, and she was sage.

.andrew ended up calling back a few minutes later and I explained the whole thing. He was thrilled (obviously) that she was found and about ready to leave work. He later told me, that is the worst feeling in the world, not only hearing that Brooklynn is lost, but feeling so helpless and not being there. Agh. Never again do I want to feel that. Never. I would never wish that feeling on my worst enemy. Never.

.a lesson was learned. Keep my eye on my kids, I usually make Brooklynn stay in the stroller until I am ready, it's what works and the norm... And I need to stick with that.

.but more I learned how important it is to tell the people you love that you live them, and care for them. No matter the age. Hug your kids a little tighter, and don't ever let go. They know your intentions. If they were to disappear tomorrow, "would they feel like you loved them? Would they KNOW that you loved them.?

.last night, I was ready for bed, it was a long, emotional day. But both kids were fighting bedtime. I was so done and ready to hide under my covers. And I went in, grabbed Brooklynn and sat down and rocked her. She held onto my shirt tight and fell asleep. We both needed that. I think she needed to feel safe before falling into her dreams, and I needed that to know she still trusts me to confuse her eyes and dream. I didn't want to let go, so I held her a little longer, and a little tighter.

.we did have a good time... I have pictures to prove it.

.quick snack.

.b looking for the dolphins.

.parker wasnt sure about it.

.do you see him?

.see the dark grey in the water...dolphins...and they got even closer.

.b and her good friend ella.

.sea lions.

.parker the entire show.

.parker when he realized i was taking a picture of him.

.one of my favorites i captured of b.

.moving catch up. sneak peek of house.

.we are living.

.barely some days. but living.

.we are a pretty boring family. and i have yet to walk around and take video of our home...hopefully by this weekend, since Andrew has Monday off.

.andrew- he LOVES work. he works about 9 hour days. he leaves around 7:10am and gets home between 5:30 and 6. He tries to work about 5 hours of overtime. B is VERY attached to her daddy lately and always asks, "where'd daddy go?" in the morning and RUNS to him screaming "ddddaaaaaadddddyyyyy" when he comes home. he works hard through the week at his job and works hard at home in the yard and around the house on the weekend. such an awesome guy.

me- well, im a mommy. a stay at home mommy. and i am thankful for that. i was just telling one of my best friends today, i dont think i ever realized how emotionally draining a stay at home mommy is. you literally stay at home all day every day with the kids and clean the house, wipe poop, make breakfast/lunch/dinner/. etc etc. dont get me wrong, i truly thank andrew everyday for working so hard for me to be able to stay home. there are just some hard days when i need an "out" and cant wait for andrew to walk through the door.

brooklynn- she is talking more. she still is not very clear, but since i am around her so much, i understand her and 95% of the time know what she is saying. she is a complete night owl and early bird. really kills me. she has started fighting bedtime. we are talking 3 hours of constantly putting her back in her bed. and naptime. she fights too. she is starting to think she doesnt need a nap. but too bad. mommy needs at least 45 minutes of alone time. she is smart and knows what she is doing when she acts out. i was telling my mom about it yesterday, and my mom was like, oh wow, she really does know what she is doing. she really is getting more fun every day. but she also is showing a lot more attitude.

parker- this kid has become my best eater and sleeper. he does not fight sleep unless there is something wrong with him. (last week he was teething and woke up a couple times throughout the night). but i can put him down at 8pm and he will sleep until 9, 930 sometimes even 10 when i finally wake him up. he is SUCH a happy kid unless b is picking on him. and even than, he deals with a lot of rough housing from her. he keeps like its his last meal. he EASILY out eats brooklynn every meal. he has a build like his daddy. tall and thin. he is WALKING. i cant believe it, its really weird to be honest.

.so the pictures are totally out of order, but it shows a few sneak peeks of the house. i want to write down now that i am VERY thankful we are able to live in a home and how this is SUCH an awesome starter home. its beyond a starter home. we got the house for such an awesome price, and we hope to do a "big project" once a year and make it really what we want.  andrew says that when i talk to people and talk about what i want changed to the house, i dont sound happy. I AM HAPPY. and i am REALLY excited to start projects with andrew. really. we installed ceiling fans, and a crib the other day and had a blast. so there are a few things we eventually want to change, over 6 years but i am VERY happy with the house. make it known. so when i mention something that we want to change, its not NOW and its not because i am not happy. however, i am getting antsy to start painting. lol

.so the pictures are again, WAY out of order. but oh well, im too lazy to fix them.

 .parker for a long time was crawling around with a bottle hanging from his nap (like his uncle tyler)

 .LOVE the double jogging. best 60 bucks i paid EVER...oh and i sold my single for 70. WIN.

 .we went to the apartment pool one day to swim since seaworld is closed mon-wed for another week.

 .she LOVES to try and change his diaper, and he lays SO still and lets her. 

 .so i was packing and the kids were quiet...too quiet...and i found this. b had found the markers.

 .thank goodness she marked on her, her brother and the box...no walls. phew.

 .another "its too quiet moment" they pulled everything out of the bins while i was packing away the apartment..

 .more disaster.

 .alright so here is our kitchen. this is us totally moved in. i remember getting everything totally moved in, and looking around and thinking, "where the heck do i start?"

 .front door, hallway packed with junk to be unpacked.

 .seaworld. he is such a good kid.

 .b checking out the fish.

 .we have had a few dishwasher problems. so friday night after working all day andrew pulled it out and cleaned EVERY single part. 

 .thanks aunt heather for the cute dress b wore to church. best i could get without her throwing a total fit.

 .b up past her bedtime, putting stickers all over herself.

 .and b got into the chalk and colored my tile.

 .see, dont you like blue tile?

 .me: "b, what did you do?"

 me: "b, this is naughty, we color with chalk outside, not inside." (see her reaction)

 .the kids LOVE getting into the cupboards. LOVE it. i aint a fan.

 .packing up, and i look over to this...whats wrong with this picture?

 .playing in the cupboard this morning. (can you believe how old b looks?)

 .cupboard fun.

 .you feel so relieved your moved in...and than you look around...

 .where to start?

 .goodness....

 .he is ready to ski too.

 she is SUCH a daddy's girl.

 .backyard (we hope to built a small storage shed in the backyard back by that box...EVENTUALLY)

 .first mow...it took him over 2 hours to do the small backyard because the lawn was SO long.

.hey mom, capture this cute face.

.thats it for now, we have seaworld play dates this week, and getting things done around the house. 

.i will REALLY try to have a video posted of the house before we leave for utah next week.