A Blessed Life

Photo a Day ~ Day 29

2012-01-30T08:50:00.001-06:00

I made a Green Monster smoothie that I found on Pintrest. Several of my friends had commented on Facebook and Twitter how good it is, and they were right! Garrett and Carolina enjoyed it!

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Photo a Day ~ Day 28

2012-01-30T08:46:00.001-06:00

Not the best picture, but she was so cute twirling and jumping along with the ice skaters on TV.

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Photo a Day ~ Day 27

2012-01-27T08:33:00.001-06:00

27 weeks.

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Photo a Day ~ Day 26

2012-01-27T08:32:00.001-06:00

I had this great idea that I would get this wonderful picture of Carolina running into Sean's arms when we picked him up from the airport. Well C had other ideas. She ran right up to him then turned around and marched the other way! Ha!

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Photo a Day ~ Day 25

2012-01-25T14:53:00.001-06:00

It's raining, it's pouring....

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Photo a Day ~ Day 24

2012-01-25T14:52:00.001-06:00

On the way to Mothers Day Out, C decided she needed 3 Meme's (monkeys) and a llama. She would not let me help her carry them either! Independent little booger!

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Photo a Day ~ Day 23

2012-01-24T14:29:00.001-06:00

After Gracie's basketball game.

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Photo a Day ~ Day 22

2012-01-22T19:16:00.001-06:00

New shoes. He assures me that the zigzags will help him run faster!

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Photo a Day ~ Day 21

2012-01-22T19:15:00.001-06:00

Ok, We have not properly filed or cleaned out files since 2004. So we spent all day Saturday and a couple hours on Sunday fixing that! The great purge and organize of 2012 continues!

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Photo a Day ~ Day 20

2012-01-22T19:13:00.001-06:00

Precious!

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Photo a day ~ Day 19

2012-01-20T08:38:00.001-06:00

Cravings

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Photo a Day ~ Day 18

2012-01-19T08:37:00.001-06:00

Studying for an algebra test.

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Photo a Day ~ Day 17

2012-01-18T09:51:00.006-06:00

Everyone putting their hands on their knees. They love singing songs with Carolina and they love that she does the motions now!!
The second picture is Garrett's basketball team won a HARD game! They are now officially number 1 in the league!

Photo a Day ~ Day 16

2012-01-18T09:50:00.002-06:00

Big girl bed!! It went great the first night!

Photo a Day ~ Day 15

2012-01-18T09:48:00.003-06:00

Dark and fuzzy, but the bed head pigtails were too cute!

Photo a Day ~ Day 14

2012-01-18T09:46:00.001-06:00

I must be nesting early. I have been purging. The rest of my house needs a good cleaning, but the closets are looking great! ha!

Photo a Day ~ Day 13

2012-01-18T09:45:00.000-06:00

In the car waiting for Big Sis to get out of basketball practice.

Photo a Day ~ Day 12

2012-01-18T09:34:00.002-06:00

Another one of her waking up in the morning. I am going to have to get more creative!

Photo a Day ~ Day 11

2012-01-18T09:33:00.001-06:00

Reading a book

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Photo a Day ~ Day 6-10

2012-01-18T09:25:00.006-06:00

Day 6 ~ The football pizza I made for the Cotton Bowl.

Day 7 ~ Baby girl sleeping, she just looked so sweet, and she was holding my hand.

Day 8 ~ To be added later, on Sean's phone.
Day 9 ~ Baby girl waking up.

Day 10 ~ Happy birthday, Sean!

Project 365 ~ Days 1-5

2012-01-11T09:18:00.006-06:00

Day 1 ~ Our New Years black eyed peas! We need some good luck this year!

Day 2 ~ Baby girl eating black olives for breakfast!

Day 3 ~ Snuggling on the couch watching Sesame Street

Day 4 ~ Playing in the bows

Day 5 ~ Football shaped pizza for the cotton bowl!

Neglected....

2012-01-09T09:35:00.005-06:00

The old blog has been neglected. I have a good reason. I promise. Baby Bum #5 will be here in April. I have been extremely nervous and work up this pregnancy. The Dr. asked us to put off the big ultrasound until I was almost 24 weeks. The reason was the heart, and everything else for that matter, would be bigger and easier to see any abnormalities. So, by the time the ultrasound date came up, I was a nut case. The ultrasound went beautifully though! The tech kept saying she was happy we had waited so long because she could see everything so much better. This first picture is a picture of our ultrasound picture, so quality is not so great! But, it is the perfect 4 chamber, every vessel coming out of the correct ventricle, no holes heart.

Again, this next picture is not so clear, but I will explain what Baby Bum is doing here. Baby Bum is laying on his/her back with his/her legs over his/her head. If you look close you can see the knees are right in front of his/her nose. Then his/her arms are wrapped around the legs! Limber little bugger!!

Baby Bum already weighs 1 lb. 10 oz. In case you are wondering, that is a big baby. That was at 23 weeks and 5 days! I am now 24 weeks and 3 days. I have reached the point of viability if the baby was born today. Don't get me wrong, the baby needs to stay where he/she is for a while longer, it is just that much more reassuring that if something did happen, there is a chance of saving Baby Bum!
Gracie, Garrett, and Carolina are all getting so big. Gracie turned 14 last month and really, is there only 4 more years until she is old enough to go to college!?! So not ready to even think about that! Garrett is 10 and he is turning into such a young man! Carolina is almost 22 months! She is so big, definitely not a baby anymore!
I am going to be posting more. I have decided to do the 365 project. I have been taking the pictures and keeping up with them on a 365 app on my phone, but I thought it would be fun to post them on the blog. And, since I can now blog from my phone, it should be pretty easy to keep up!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-09-18T07:58:00.001-05:00

Week 78.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-09-18T07:53:00.003-05:00

Week 77. She was so sweet snuggled up in my bed and then regressing back to her bouncy seat! ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-09-18T07:49:00.003-05:00

Week 76. These were actually taken on Thursday night at the meet the teacher night for her CDO. Such a big girl!

It's Friday ~ I'm in love

2011-08-21T15:08:00.001-05:00

Week 74. Showing off her belly button while watching the Veggie Tales silly song about belly buttons. If you say belly button she will say ahah. (If you know the song, this should make sense!ha!)

Week 75. She is now obsessed with Tangled! I didn't think
She would really watch it, but she loves the songs. It is good to watch in the mornings while she is trying to wake up for the day!

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It's Friday ~ I'm in Love

2011-08-10T16:07:00.001-05:00

Week 73

Snuggling with Grandma.

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It's Friday ~ I'm in love

2011-08-03T14:33:00.001-05:00

Week 72. One day I will actually get back to posting these on Friday! I did take these on Friday though!

Don't you love the faces Daddy will make to get her to smile for me!

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It's Friday~I'm in Love

2011-07-25T08:30:00.003-05:00

Week 71. Hanging out in the pool (which is about all you can do outside when it is this hot). Then she decided her outfit was a great place to store stuff! Ha!

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It's Friday ~ I'm in Love

2011-07-25T08:24:00.001-05:00

Week 70. I know I am so far behind. Life is just crazy. These are the pics I took that day. Not so great, but eating meatballs and then some serious bed head!

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It's Friday ~ I'm in Love

2011-07-13T08:17:00.001-05:00

Week 69. Swimming. It is her favorite thing to do right now!

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The Boat Parade

2011-07-05T09:19:00.001-05:00

Carolina, Grandma, and I waving from the bridge.

Sean, Grace, Garrett, and Grandpa in the parade!

Grace may have ended up in the water shortly after this picture was taken. She may have thought she was going to drown. That is until Sean told her she was in a foot and a half of water! He still had to replace the sunglasses!

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It's Friday ~ I'm In Love

2011-07-01T17:00:00.001-05:00

Week 68.

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I Love Summer

2011-06-24T19:29:00.001-05:00

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It's Friday, I'm in Love

2011-06-24T16:50:00.001-05:00

Week 67. Someone is really enjoying my Starbucks, and it is not me! Ha!

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It's Friday I'm in Love

2011-06-22T16:56:00.001-05:00

Week 66. We went to the doc today for a 15 month well child check up. She weighs 28.9 lbs and is 33 inches long. She is a big girl! She is also a water baby! She loves the pool!

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2011-06-10T15:31:00.002-05:00

Week 65. I just love this outfit, and she is quickly outgrowing it!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-06-10T15:25:00.003-05:00

Week 64. Not that great, but the only pics I took of her last Friday! I can hardly get her to wear bows anymore, but she insisted on wearing both of these! Ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-05-27T17:52:00.003-05:00

Week 63. Miss Carolina is transitioning from two naps to one. Really, it is so much better when she takes one long afternoon nap, but it makes me sad that she is more of a little girl than baby anymore! She has also moved up a size in diapers. She is getting to be such a big girl!! She still has some major bed head in these pics! ha! I think Sean is having some scary visions of his future! ha!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Really There Are No Words

2011-05-25T12:36:00.002-05:00

Somedays you just know you will do nothing but chase a baby. (Sorry for the quality of the photos. They were taken on my iphone)

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-05-20T09:40:00.004-05:00

Week 62. Too bad her outfit cannot bring out the sun! It is supposed to rain all weekend. I guess that means I may get a lot of indoor projects done! Carolina is transitioning from size 3 diapers to size 4 and wearing a size 2 in clothes. She is trying to get rid of her morning nap, but it is hard because we have to leave to pick up the big kids in the middle of when she is trying to take her afternoon nap. Yesterday she had about a 45 minute nap all day. It made for a pretty miserable evening for all of us! She loves apple juice, blackberries, and Blues Clues. She is getting so big!

Go Carts

2011-05-20T08:46:00.004-05:00

We have a little go cart track a couple of miles from our house. Sean and the big kids love to go when we have a free evening in the spring/summer. So, when we went to Branson last week the kids had to take Sean to one of the big go cart tracks. There was a cork screw thing to drive up, then a pretty big hill to drive down. Garrett was just about an inch too short to drive his own go cart, so he rode with Dad. He had a blast! Sean may have had fun also!

Gracie on the other hand, since she is now taller than me, was tall enough to ride by herself. I don't know how well you can see these photos, but she was screaming like a little girl! It was so funny. Sean was the first one down every time, and Grace was the last one! She talks so big, but she is still 13. They had the go carts regulated so they could not go fast anyway, and she rode the brakes the entire time! She had a blast, I think she just had a moment of panic when she saw the hill!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-05-17T21:32:00.004-05:00

Week 61. We went on a short getaway so we were in Branson last Friday. She wore that Krispy Kreme hat all over the hotel! She loved it! I can't get her to wear bows very long anymore, but a Krispy Kreme hat she will wear! ha! Hopefully we will get back on track this week. Lately this family has been stretched so thin. I think we are starting to dig our way out though. We are slowly learning to say no. Don't get me wrong, we are still so busy, just not quite as bad!

Nature Center

2011-05-09T08:50:00.004-05:00

Garrett had strep a week and a half ago. He had to miss school, and a field trip! His favorite place to go is the Nature Center, and really, with how close it is to our house we need to go more often! Sean met us there for lunch and we took a walk. He loved it and more than made up for the missed field trip!
Carolina loves her brother, can you tell! Ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-05-09T08:47:00.003-05:00

Week 60. I know they aren't that great, but they are there! ha!

Easter 2011

2011-05-06T10:45:00.004-05:00

We spent Easter in a hotel room and at a volleyball tournament and in the car driving home trying to beat a big storm. (How's that for a run on sentence.) There were no Easter egg hunts or Ham, but the Easter Bunny found us and Jesus still rose from the dead. That is what matters the most.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-05-05T09:38:00.003-05:00

Week 59. It is getting really, really hard to take her picture! She is on the move all the time! I know it is Thursday, but the pics were taken last Friday. Our family has been spread so thin lately I was waiting for it to break. Or I guess one of us to break! It is starting to slow down now. At least only one activity a night instead of three. I will never let our family get that over committed again. Anyway. I have several things I want to get on the blog and document so I will be doing that today if the queen bee lets me! ha!

Volleyball

2011-04-30T08:12:00.004-05:00

This is how we spent Easter Weekend. It was the last volleyball tournament for the season. We were in Kansas City. I enjoy volleyball, but will be glad not to see another hotel room for a while. I don't really like hotels anyway, and we have been spending a lot weekends in hotels!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-04-28T08:22:00.002-05:00

Week 58. We were in Kansas City for a volleyball tournament last Friday. I took the pics Friday, but did not get a chance post until today. They are not the best pics, but I sewed the dress she is wearing, with a lot of help from my mother in law!

The Easter Bunny

2011-04-19T12:36:00.003-05:00

After we saw how much she loved Santa, we knew the Easter Bunny was not going to be much better. She did not disappoint. She was all about him while we were standing in line. She kept pointing at him and talking. Not much of a fan close up though! ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-04-15T13:49:00.005-05:00

Week 57. Please excuse the stuff all over the house. I was trying to mop, and as you can imagine, it is not easy with a 13 month old running around.

Taking pics of her is always challenging! She head butts me, tries to put the lens cap back on, or just runs away. I recently got several pics of her finger on the center of the lens. ha!

Her hair is getting so long! Look at these curls! She is going to be my curly red headed, big blue eyed girl!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-04-13T08:03:00.003-05:00

Week 56. I know. It is Wednesday, but the pics were taken Friday. With my iphone, therefore the amazing quality! ha! Better late than never right.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-04-02T19:37:00.003-05:00

Week 55. I know it is Saturday. I took the pics yesterday, but never got around to posting. She was not really in the mood to take pics yesterday. She was playing with her baby and did not wish to be interrupted! ha!

Middle Child

2011-03-30T08:25:00.002-05:00

I feel as if Garrett has not had a lot of face time on the blog lately and when I look back at this I will probably wonder where he was! ha! He actually has an amazing imagination and is able to occupy himself most of the time. He plays with legos or runs around outside. He loves going to the nature center. He hates to have his pic taken unless it is his idea. He loves science and hopes to be a scientist one day. I think he will do something with animals. He has the most precious heart, you just have to get past the wild boy every once in a while! ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-03-25T11:18:00.003-05:00

Week 54. She went to her one year well child check up this week. She weighs 25 lbs. 13.5 oz. and is 31.25 inches long ~ that is in the 95th percentile! She is still a big girl! She gets to drink whole milk, which she is pretty much refusing to do. I am also trying to wean her and she is fighting that. At this rate she will be 12 before she is weaned (not really, I promise! ha!)! She is starting to walk more and more and she is getting faster and faster! She loves it when she walks fast. She will hug me and laugh if she has gotten some speed in her step! ha!

The Birthday Party

2011-03-23T08:34:00.009-05:00

We had Carolina's birthday party last weekend. Sean's parent came from Minnesota and his sister came from Denver. My family came also, just a much shorter drive! ha! We didn't have a lot of people because I didn't want this big stressful party. It was still stressful, but fun! I went with the owl theme. My mother collected owls so there were owls around my house when I was little so I really love all the owl stuff that is out now. I had a friend of mine make her 1st birthday shirt then took it to Creative Kitchen and they copied the shirt for her cake! I love it! The pictures just do not do it justice. Then I did pink and blue Jones Soda and finger foods.

As I said I had a sweet friend make her onsie. I made the tutu and my mother in law made the leggings. She loves tutus! She is such a girl!

With the cake, she started out tentative, but she dug in with glee! I just cannot even explain how giddy she was! I gave her some juice to help wash the icing down and she did not want to touch the cup. She finally did, and then licked the icing off the handle! She didn't want to waste any of it! ha!

After a bath, she opened her presents. She proved once again that she is very much a girly girl. She loved the babies, but she also loved the car Sean and I got for her! Funny story. Elmo has a bottle. Carolina has never had a bottle. I thought she would just equate it with a sippy cup or a paci, but she puts it on Elmo's neck. I have tried showing her it goes in his mouth, but she will stick it back on his neck. I have no idea what she thinks it is! ha!

She was one little worn out birthday girl!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-03-19T00:19:00.000-05:00

Week 53. The big party is tomorrow, lots to do!!

Two Years

2011-03-16T23:10:00.001-05:00

It has been two years since we drove away from Arkansas Childrens Hospital without Evan. Two years. I miss him.

National Trisomy 13 Awareness Day

2011-03-14T11:18:00.004-05:00

March is National Trisomy 13 Awareness Month. The 13th is National Trisomy 13 Awareness Day. It is also two years to the day we received Evan's definite diagnosis. I know that I am a day late. We were in Little Rock this weekend. It was a tough weekend. I cannot drive past Childrens without feeling like someone punched me in the stomach. Yesterday I sat at a volleyball tournament holding a sleeping baby thinking about how much had changed in the past two years. Two years ago I could not even fathom I would be in Little Rock holding Evan's little sister. It just amazes me.

This is a video another mom put together last year. Evan is in it about 2:50. It seems there are so many Trisomy videos that are out there to shock people. I am so glad she made this to show how much these babies are loved.

Here is a link to the actual video. My blog is cutting it off? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE0IVJjPidM

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-03-11T16:44:00.004-06:00

Week 52. Tomorrow is the big day! She will be one!!! Lots of fun things planned for her! She has finally decided she may give this walking thing a try. She took 4 consecutive steps today! ha! It is amazing how much your life can change in a year!

It's Evan's Birthday

2011-03-10T08:54:00.003-06:00

I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do. Part of me is just angry, part of me is sad, and part of me wants to celebrate some how. I just don't know how. I do know that two years ago I could not imagine how our lives would change with this little guys birth. I miss him everyday. He should be two. He should be walking around, talking, calling me Mommy. I'm selfish. I want him here.
Happy birthday sweet baby boy.

Our Weekend

2011-03-09T08:22:00.004-06:00

Not only did Sean run a marathon, but Grace had a volleyball tournament. Of course in totally different places. We had to be in Springdale (about an hour north) at 7:00 Saturday morning (we were late). We watched some volleyball, Carolina cheered in her tutu, and Garrett ran wild with the other volleyball siblings. Then loaded up (minus Grace, who spent the weekend with her volleyball coach so she could finish the tournament. I am pretty sure that is above and beyond the call of duty for a coach, but Grace had a blast. We love our volleyball coach.) and made the 3 hour drive East to Little Rock for the marathon! After the marathon, we ate at PF Changs, which is where Sean has eaten after every marathon). Then headed home.

My Husband is a Rock Star

2011-03-08T08:07:00.008-06:00

I have said it before and I will say it again. Men and women grieve so differently. While we were in Little Rock with Evan, the Little Rock Marathon was ran. After we lost Evan, Sean decided to run the Little Rock marathon in memory of Evan. This is part of his grief process and I think it is amazing. So we spent the weekend in Little Rock trying to cheer him on! Here he is about mile 13. Still going strong!

We then drove all over Little Rock trying to see him again and just missing him! I would pull up to a spot where people were watching the marathon and ask what time pacer just went by and it was the one 30 minutes after him all four times!! I finally just went to the 25 mile marker! I was so disappointed! I wanted to be there to cheer him on and encourage him! Here are the kids watching all the runners with just about a mile to go ~ waiting for Daddy!

Garrett ran with him when he got to us. He was hurting, but still running! Carolina had been clapping for the runners before Sean, but when Sean ran by she just pointed at him. It was like "what's Daddy doing out there?!?" Ha!

Finish Line!

I am so proud of my husband. He has found an amazing way to honor our son. I could not ask for more.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-03-04T09:13:00.002-06:00

Week 51. I just cannot believe in a week and a day she will be one. Just cannot believe it! I had this onsie made by Lauren Grace boutique , and it is too cute! She is covering up the bow on her belly, but it is soooo cute! I can't wait to take her to the volleyball tournament tomorrow! Anyway, very busy week as we get ready for her big birthday party!!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-02-25T11:32:00.004-06:00

Week 50. Really. 50. That means just two weeks and one day and she will be one! This is currently her favorite thing to do. I have conceded defeat, at least until tomorrow. I bought locks for the cabinets and Sean will be installing them tomorrow. Here she is having a blast with hot chocolate and apple cider packets. The other night it was goldfish. Our dog loved that because Carolina fed her also! ha!

I Need a Moment Please

2011-02-19T13:01:00.004-06:00

to brag on my amazing husband, who I don't take enough pictures of apparently. Having two babies in one year pretty much wreaked havoc on my body. Muscles and skin were stretched and big and then stretched and big again pretty much right away. I have been trying to do something about that and slowly my jeans have gotten way too big. The problem, the next size jeans I owned were still tight. I needed the size in between. I kept complaining, but not doing anything about it. So for Valentines day, my sweet husband brought me these roses (the yellow daisies were Gracie's) and a package from the Buckle. He went and bought a pair of jeans he liked and had everything there so I could exchange them. He said he had no idea what size, but he bought the style he liked and I could just go get the right size. They.fit.me.perfectly! Who needs Cinderella's slipper when you have a cool pair of jeans that fit great!! ha! He took me shopping again today so I could get a few more pairs. You would have to know Sean, and how much he hates malls, to know how big this was. He may not be perfect, but it is the little things, like going to the mall and making me buy things for me and not the kids, that shows me he loves me.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-02-18T10:05:00.002-06:00

Week 49. I love these pictures! Bed head, mess behind her (she loves to empty her diaper bag), beautiful blue eyes and all! It has been a very busy week around here. She turned 11 months on Saturday, but we were in Tulsa so I didn't get a post up, I will get that soon. She also took some steps on Monday night. The big kids had already gone to bed so it was just Sean and I. I was so glad we both saw her first steps! We worked with her a while before we got the camera out, so she was pretty much done when we got the video, but there is one step on there. I will post that with her 11 month post!

Weekend in Tulsa

2011-02-14T08:04:00.004-06:00

We spent the weekend in Tulsa playing volleyball, going to Incredible Pizza, and not sleeping at the hotel! The volleyball was not so great on Saturday, but a lot of fun on Sunday. Incredible Pizza was nuts. Carolina did not sleep either night, but slept wonderfully last night and has already taken a great nap this morning! I did get to eat Cheesecake Factory for Valentines Day ~ while all three kids along! ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-02-11T15:49:00.002-06:00

Week 48. A cute little "I'll be 11 months old tomorrow" girl has learned to crawl back and forth between her brother and sis and sign "more" while they are eating cookies! She gets lots of cookie that way! Ha!

Apparently

2011-02-09T11:04:00.001-06:00

I am not over it! ha!

I.am.over.it.

2011-02-05T11:39:00.004-06:00

Don't get me wrong. The snow is pretty, but if you take a 13 and 9 year old who are used to going and going and going and sit at home with them for a few days, it is enough to make you want to pull your hair out! I have also had to drive in it. Marrying a man from Minnesota has its perks. Never having to drive in the snow is one of them. Yesterday I thought I left to get the kids before it got bad. It was sort of bad. What was worse was the panic attack I had waiting for Grace to come to the office because everyone in there was talking about how many accidents they saw on the way in and how many times they slid and how they should close such and such road. I made it home. Garrett almost did not make it with me though. I was praying out loud while going up a hill and Garrett was in the back seat quiet like I asked, then all of a sudden he says "I hope we survive." Not what I needed to hear! Anyway. I am ready for spring and will never be moving North, and we are supposed to get a lot more snow Wednesday. At least I have time to plan some snow day activities.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-02-04T11:09:00.003-06:00

Week 47! It has been snowing and icing like crazy around here. Another day snowed in means we have pictures!! She still won't walk on her own, but she is -><- this close. She is wearing 24 month clothes and eating everything we do. I am hardly making food at all for her. She loves string cheese and blueberries. She has a cold and will only sleep if I am holding her. I have tried the whole cry it out thing a few times, but I think I will really get serious about it after she is better.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-01-28T20:43:00.002-06:00

Week 46. This little girl keeps me busy!

Volleyball

2011-01-26T09:33:00.002-06:00

Grace is really enjoying playing volleyball. I am going to have to figure out the camera settings to get good photos! I played with it some this weekend, but never really got any good pics. She has an amazing coach who is teaching her how to play. I really appreciate that more after seeing some teams we have played against. It is nice to have someone knowledgeable about the game and determined to TEACH the girls!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-01-21T13:20:00.003-06:00

Week 45. Getting her to sit still and let me take a picture where she is actually looking at me is impossible! Our days have turned into a blur of trying to get the dog bowls (fun to play in the water), try to get into the bathroom (she can unroll a roll of toilet paper quickly), and getting into the plants. Along the way she will try to smash her fingers in the kitchen cabinets! She definitely keeps me busy! I have started feeding her more regular food instead of baby food. She loves string cheese!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-01-16T10:48:00.001-06:00

Week 44. I have got to get back on track with this! Things have just been extremely crazy lately. This was her first kids meal. We went to Panera and grilled cheese and yogurt are some of her favorite things! She enjoyed eating the butter packets most of all though! ha!

10 Months

2011-01-12T15:53:00.004-06:00

I cannot believe she is 10 months old. Grace started walking on the day she turned 10 months, and I really thought C was going to be walking by now, but she is not. And thats ok. I think she could if she wanted to. She will let go while she is standing up, and she has fallen on her rear end a few times, so she has decided that letting go is just not for her! ha! She is cruising. She will walk all over the place as long as her hand is touching something. She is not sleeping all that well for some reason. It is worse than when she was a newborn. I feel like I am in a fog most of the time. She is starting to eat more food. I have started pureeing less and less and giving her cut up food to eat. She feels like a big girl! She is drinking more and more out of a sippy cup also. She has not figured out how to climb the stairs yet. I am very thankful for that! She never was much of a snuggler, but as she gets older she appreciates "snuggle up" more and more. She gives kisses that are wet and slobbery and wonderful! I am just very thankful I have the opportunity to stay home and be a mommy ~ it is the best job ever!

Snow 2011

2011-01-10T15:42:00.003-06:00

The snow was not so great when we were driving home from Oklahoma City yesterday, but is kind of nice while home today. Carolina loved it as long as someone was holding her. I sat her on a towel so she could touch it, it was too cold. She crawled out into it, and that was really bad! She is a Southern girl ~ snow is pretty to look at, but too cold to be in!

Happy Birthday Sean

2011-01-10T09:08:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to an amazing husband and wonderful father!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2011-01-10T09:04:00.004-06:00

Ok. It's Monday. We were in Oklahoma City this weekend and to spend two nights in hotel with an almost 10 month old you have to pack half of your house. Friday was nuts trying to pack everything and not forget anything and I didn't get any pictures taken. The above pic is from Saturday and she was quite done with volleyball for the day! ha! We did stay in a hotel that was attached to the convention center where the tournament was held so that made things so much easier. We could also walk to the restaurant and did not get into our car the whole time we were there! She will be 10 months in 2 days, I will have a better post with cute pics then!

2010 in Pictures

2011-01-02T10:01:00.001-06:00

(click to make bigger)

It's Friday - I'm in love

2010-12-31T18:27:00.005-06:00

Week 42. She is clapping her hands and cruising all over the place. I really don't think it will be long before she is walking. I can not believe 2010 is over. 2010 has really been good to our family. Miss Carolina has been a huge blessing to our family. I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us.

I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken and I will do it.
Ezekiel 36:36

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T09:36:00.008-06:00

We had an exciting Christmas around here. Carolina could have cared less! ha! She liked the Zoe toothbrush and the pretty dress the most. The dinosaur riding toy that I thought she would love, she looks at funny every once in a while and will sit on it for about a minute! ha!

Garrett is normally so hard to buy for because he really likes cheap stuff. His favorite present last year was a $10 package of army men. I feel bad if he gets army men and Gracie gets the expensive stuff she wants. This year he wanted Kinects to go with his Xbox. I went to Walmart and they told me that I would not be able to find it by itself. I went to Target and they had it! ha! It had just came in that morning and they had like seven and I got the second to last one! Yea! He was and still is so excited! He also loved the Harvey Trent (from batman) figurine with the coin to flip (that was like $2). I love that boy!

Grace was all about boots and clothes and itune gift cards! She loved all her stuff. I was kind of worried she wouldn't like the clothes I picked out, but she loved them. I let my brother pick out the boots (he sells them so he knows more about the styles).

Sean and I also had a good Christmas. I was able to surprise him. He didn't even realize the present was under the tree! He had told me he wanted the blue twins pull over so I went online and ordered it. He got me some Toms and Minnatonka boots. His brother got him a little version of his Chevelle. That was a really great gift also.

Merry Christmas!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2010-12-24T11:33:00.004-06:00

Week 41. Merry Christmas Eve! Miss Carolina is playing with one of her presents. I had it out to wrap it, and Daddy is a sucker. She was kissing it and talking to it in its box, so he got it out! At least she is too young to know!

Santa Baby

2010-12-22T10:25:00.003-06:00

I thought maybe after he offered her cookies she may be at least indifferent, but no. She was not going to have anything to do with him. In hindsight, going to Santa after a long day of not so good naps probably was not a good idea! ha!

My Gracie Girl

2010-12-21T10:05:00.004-06:00

My sweet Gracie girl is a teenager. She turned 13 on the 16th. Bless her heart, that night we saw Santa (more pics of that later!), Garrett had his program, and Grace had Volleyball practice. She got part of her present, which is a room redo. She only got part because I wanted her to help pick stuff out. Since we moved here her room has always been pink and brown and we have redone it twice before now. So this time I picked a blue comforter and I wanted black zebra striped sheets, but they did not have them at the store I was at, and I haven't had much time to shop around, and I wanted to make sure that was something she wanted (Wow, that was a run-on sentence). Anyway, she loved the light blue and we are going to finish shopping for her room after the stores die down a bit! We did take her to dinner the next night for her birthday.
Gracie girl, you are a beautiful young lady, inside and out. I love you so much. Please don't be too hard on my through the teenage years! ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2010-12-20T10:03:00.003-06:00

Week 40. I know it is Monday, and the pictures were taken on Saturday, but I had a break down on Friday. I had (still do) a list a mile long of things to get done and I got none of it done. I held a baby. I was crying and freaking out and Sean finally got me. I was doing the most important thing. Holding my baby. He took the packages to be shipped. There are still presents to be wrapped. ( No presents under the tree have their cute bows because a certain 9 month old loves to tear them off. ha!) There are still presents that need to be bought. I still need to take care of all my Dad's Christmas presents also. I need to go to Wal-mart, Target, Sams, and Old Navy. But anyway, enough about me. We took these pics on Saturday in Garrett's room. The lighting in my house is weird. It is very yellowish so pics at night or in a room that does not have a lot of natural light do not come out that great. She was having a blast up there though! Sean and I were joking the other day that she has been here longer than she was in my belly! She is so busy these days. She is all over the house! She is a very fast crawler and has learn to wait until we are not looking! She scares me on a daily basis. I will be sitting in the floor playing with her and something will distract me for a minute and she will crawl behind the chair or in the kitchen. It just takes a minute! I am having so much fun with her. Parenting at 35 is so different than 22 (thats how old I was when Grace was born) or even 26 (garrett). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed them. It is just different. I was a late in life baby for my parents and my sisters always told me Mom was different with me and I think I can understand that.

9 months

2010-12-15T16:10:00.003-06:00

At nine months you:
~weigh 24 lbs. 13.5 oz
~30.5 inches long
~Say mama, daddy, Garrett, bye bye, dog, hey, hi on a regular basis
~Nurse about 5 times a day
~Have decided you don't sleep anymore
~Think you are as big as the big kids
~Pulling up on everything
~Crawling all over the place
~Still in size 3 diapers
~18-24 size clothes
~Right now you are stalking your brother because he is eating chips! ha!
~You have been out of my belly longer than you were in there! ha!

Big Brother

2010-12-13T09:57:00.003-06:00

I "told" on Garrett in my last post (for dropping his sister), so I think this would be a good time for a post about what a wonderful big brother he is! He has just recently started picking her up. When she is getting into mischief (as he calls it) and I am up to my elbows in dirty dishes or laundry or something, he will now pick her up and move her. I thought they were so cute the other day so I snapped a few pics before he noticed. They love to sit on the yoga ball, and C really loves it when you bounce her on it! He is one of her favorite people. She even says Garrett. I only get a mama when she is frustrated and wants something!ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2010-12-11T14:35:00.003-06:00

Week 39. OK, it is Saturday. Friday was nuts. Beyond nuts. I would rather just forget about Friday. Carolina has a nice big bruise on her forehead and cheek after her brother dropped her off the couch. She was fine, I was not. I know I way overreacted. She was supposed to go to my sis-in-laws house after that so we could go to a Christmas party, but guess who also went to the Christmas party. It was our Bible study group and they were really nice about it, but I know that I am crazy. And all that was after the shear craziness of the whole day. Anyway. We are just going to pretend her Breakfast with Santa pictures were taken on Friday.

Christmas Card Photos

2010-12-07T08:17:00.004-06:00

Fail! I have over 100 pics like this! Poor Garrett cannot fake smile, Carolina wanted to play with the tree or take off, and Barbie wanted to be in the picture! While I won't be using any of these on the Christmas card (I think), I love them. It really shows what life with three kids is like. Crazy.

It's Friday - I'm in love

2010-12-04T09:01:00.006-06:00

Week 38.
We have a bonus Bum in the pics this week. Garrett helped because Carolina wanted to crawl instead of sit still for pictures. Garrett is actually a huge help now that C is crawling all over the place. There are no~no we never even considered, and no~no we really don't know what to do about. Like pulling up on the tv. It is anchored in place, but she still smashes her fingers in the glass doors, and I really don't want her pulling up and standing two inches from the tv and watching it. So this is how Garrett fixes that problem! He even got a brother out of that one! She didn't say it clearly, but even he recognized that that was what she said!

She has also discovered the tree. She left it alone for a couple of days so we decided to go ahead and put the last row of lights on it. Then it became very interesting! When I turned my head, she crawled over and pulled them off! I am just very thankful they are not hot! I can't wait to see what she does with the presents we put under there!

It's time to

2010-11-30T16:20:00.004-06:00

make more baby food! She loves Butternut squash, so I am adding a summer squash and zucchini squash. We are also trying broccoli and avocado. She has had avocado before, but only once when she first started eating solids. We are going to try again now that she likes food! ha!

Shutterfly

2010-11-29T10:31:00.008-06:00

I have had a few friends who have blogged about this promotion with Shutterfly. I have used Shutterfly for cards and prints in the past, and I have been really happy with them! I really like their cards this year. There are traditional cards, and also fun colorful cards. They have folding greeting cards that are made out of a heavier paper, and the flat photo cards that are a little cheaper, but still really cute.

I love to send out Christmas cards and 50 free cards is a very good deal! It is always so hard to pick a design. I have been looking for a couple of weeks and cannot decide on one! I may do like I did with C's birth announcements and have a few different designs! Anyway, just thought I would share. It is always fun to find ways to save money this time of year!

Here are a few of the Christmas Cards that I love!

I love how colorful this is! It is not just the basic green and red, but it is still Christmas.

I love the big picture and it is still colorful!

This one also has the big picture, and I love the red and blue!

I like the nativity in this one, and the three pics for three kids!

Love the black with the bright colors!

I love how simple and classic this is!

Ok. That is more than a few! And the sad thing is ~ I could keep going! ha!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2010-11-26T21:08:00.003-06:00

Week 37.
We picked out our tree today. She loved being outside and watching the big kids run around and touching all the trees. She also really enjoyed her first taste of a candy cane! She doesn't really seem to care that there is now a big tree in the living room, maybe I will get by with her not trying to pull up on the tree this year! Sean's parents are here, so I have had lots of help, she has had lots of attention, and Sean is getting lots of project done! I love long weekends!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-26T08:41:00.003-06:00

The only picture I took! Carolina is very thankful for Grandma's who came all the way from Minnesota to snuggle!

Mischief

2010-11-24T08:21:00.005-06:00

Carolina is all over the place. Just look how happy making a mess makes her! ha! I don't know how many times I put her toys back into that bucket yesterday. Then why play with all those toys. I mean if Dad leaves his hat and Garrett decides to change clothes in the living room, then hats and jeans are fair game to chew on! I can't turn my head for a minute! ha! Garrett will tell me she is up to mischief, which I think is so cute!

Speaking of little man, I am about to interrupt this

so I can get some last minute things before Sean's parents get here. I am hoping if I go to the store early enough it won't be too crazy. After today I will not step foot in the door of a store for several days, unless someone makes me! Crowds make me nervous!

Out-takes

2010-11-22T13:40:00.002-06:00

I just thought these were funny. They were taken last Friday. She usually leaves her bow alone, but I guess she got a glimpse of it and pulled it over her eyes. What's funny is she didn't even fuss, she just looked around like she was trying to figure out what was going on. Ha!

The Birthday Boy

2010-11-21T21:41:00.004-06:00

Just barely, but it is still his 9th birthday! Garrett is such a precious boy. He is all boy, but also knows when you need a hug. His last two teachers have had bad news about a family member while at school, and both times Garrett has gone over and hugged them. He still checks on me when I am laughing to make sure I am not crying (I guess it sounds similar, and for a long time I would be crying). Soccer season is over, and basketball just began last week. He is on a new team this year and so far loves it! His cousin is on his team and the coach seems really nice. He already has a nick name ~ Big Garrett!

Happy Birthday, Little Man!!

It's Friday - I'm in love

2010-11-19T13:30:00.004-06:00

Week 36. She is just crawling everywhere! We tried carrots this week, she was not a big fan. She loved the peaches though!