Prima Ballerinas (Sigh...)

Happy 5th Birthday, Maggie!

Five years ago, sweet Maggie was born. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long because time flies.

We were thrilled about meeting Maggie, but we didn’t know what to expect. (Does any first-time parent?) She was taken to the NICU for a few minutes after she was born because she was pre-term (“near-term”—36 weeks), but when she was about two hours old, the nurse brought her to the room and let us spend some time alone with her. Words can’t even describe how sweet those moments were.

I love watching Maggie grow. She is turning out to be such a sweet little girl. She has such a special, kind heart. I know God has great things planned for her, and I can’t wait to see His plans unfold.

But for now, I’m thinking back five years ago, to that wonderful day Maggie came into our lives. And saying a prayer of thanksgiving for our little girl.

Happy 5^th birthday, Maggie!

Newborn Maggie

Baby Maggie (6 months old)

One-year-old Maggie

Meeting Miller! (22 months old)

Two years old

Three-year-old Maggie

Four years old

Nearly five years old! (5th birthday party)

Joyful, Joyful!

Miller's 3rd Birthday!

Three years ago yesterday we welcomed our Miller into the family. He is the sweetest, best-natured, most adorable little boy, and we are so blessed to have him. He gives the best hugs and kisses and says the most hilarious things you’ve ever heard.

It’s no surprise that when given choices for his birthday party, he chose a pirate party. We loved getting together with friends and family to celebrate our little fella. Here are some pictures…

Most of the friends at the party...Some of them hadn't gotten there yet, but we were afraid there would be a "shipwreck" with the cupcake stand because the wind was blowing, so we had to sing "Happy Birthday" early.

So happy to have the birthday song sung to him!

One of my favorite Miller smiles

Opening presents...genuine surprise! He thought he only got one birthday present, so he was surprised when more kept coming!

"I could do this every day!"

The cupcake stand Daddy and Mr. Scott built

I made the banner. KIDDING...Jeff made it. He's so crafty...

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY, MILLER! :-)

First Day of School!

The kids and I had our first day of school today, and it went great! Here are some pics of the cuties this morning.



A Post of Pictures

Finally, some pictures! And a lot of them...maybe enough to last until Miller's birthday week-after-next. (Nah...)

Can't believe how grown-y that little girl is looking!

Starting ballet for the year...

Jeff asked her to do a ballet pose.

According to Mags, this is also a ballet pose. :-)

This was two years ago when she first took ballet. Crazy how fast they grow!

Events leading up to this picture: Daddy gets Miller dressed. Mommy decides Miller's pants need to be ironed. Miller puts bucket on his head and calls himself "bucket head." Bucket head chases Maggie around and then poses for a picture.

Our nephew Camden had his 1st birthday, and all the cousins got to play together and celebrate! It's very hard to get a picture of 11 cousins all smiling and looking at the camera. (There is one extra child. He's an only child and was probably stunned and confused!)

Miller loved playing with his cousins!

The birthday boy and his cute little curls!

Not a good picture of Mommy, but this is one of my favorite smiles of Miller's.



Good Night Snack

A tradition that I had growing up was always having a "bedtime snack." I was always a good eater (still am!), and I guess my mom didn't see the harm in my having a little snack just before brushing my teeth and going to bed every night. That tradition has pretty much stuck with me (along with a few extra pounds!). As a result, the kids always want a bedtime snack.

Only...the tradition has morphed into something a little different and pretty hilarious. Instead of asking for a bedtime snack, Maggie asks for a "midnight snack." Miller asks for a "good night snack." They also ask for a "midnight show" or a "good night show" before every nap time and bedtime. It has gotten to the point now where Miller calls breakfast a "wake-up snack" and lunch a "good night snack." Silly kids!

Since we still can't find our camera and posts without pictures tend to get pretty boring, here are a couple of previously unposted pics from the past few weeks.

Maggie's Prayers

I wanted to write down Maggie’s prayers tonight because I don’t want to forget them…
 

“We love you for giving us the things we want and we love you when you give us the things we don’t want.”

“Thank you for making a store where we can shop.”

“Thank you for making our names and showing us how to spell them.”

“Thank you for the fun night that we had.”

“Thank you for the friends you ‘have gaven’ us.”

“Thank you for loving me when I’m bad.” (Broke my heart)

I love that sweet girl’s prayers and the discussions we have at bedtime. (Bedtime is when she chooses to ask deep questions.) I love that she’s getting old enough to really think about things. She’s a thinker like her Mama and Daddy.

She had a hard time falling asleep tonight (took a three-hour afternoon nap), so we talked a while, sang each other every song we know, counted to 100, named all of our cousins, and I finally, in a poor parenting moment, made her a playlist of preschool songs on the ipod to listen to for a few minutes while she gets sleepy. Whew! I surely could fall asleep! J

Chuckles

For the past day, I’ve been writing down some of the things M&M have said that have made me chuckle. Here goes…

Maggie:

“Let me drive the four-wheeler. Miller’s pretty much a bad driver.”

Said during snack time: “Mama, why do you keep eating more cookies?”

Said while playing with Miller, head bowed and all: “Dear Jesus, please help stop this bad day I’m having. Please help Miller stop snatching from me. Amen.”

Miller:

“Mr. Jeff needs to fix the TV.” (He corrected himself. He started off saying “Daddy” and changed it to “Mr. Jeff.”)

“That was the goodest pizza I ever had.”

Said while pushing Maggie around on the ottoman (a favorite activity around here):  “You are getting heavy, Maggie.”

Also…Jeff was awakened in the middle of the night by Miller sitting happy as a clam in the middle of the couch flipping through a book and talking about it. (I was awakened by the subsequent crying when Jeff put Miller back to bed. What a mean Daddy to make him go back to bed instead of reading all night!) Poor kid is so tired now he’s struggling with nap time. Here’s to a good night’s sleep! :-)

Luke 6:31

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."

A simple, clear command. So important for all of us at every age and in every walk of life. And sometimes such a struggle. And very, very applicable to life with my two-year-old and four-year-old right now.

I LOVE having them just two years apart. It is so rewarding to hear them playing and being sweet to each other. Just this morning they were walking down the sidewalk holding hands.

But the BICKERING…argh! Lately, nearly every time one of them has a toy or a book, the other wants it. Sometimes they will ask nicely for it and the other one will refuse to share it. Then a fight ensues. Sometimes they will choose to snatch instead of asking nicely. Then a fight ensues. Sometimes they will share with conditions (“You can play with it for ONE minute”—i.e. one second.) Then the conditions expire and a fight ensues. You get it.

SO, today we memorized Luke 6:31. Do I expect Miller to “get it” right away? Nope. But I surely do want our kids to start understanding this at a young age.

I don’t want to make it sound like life is “so hard” around here or like I don’t enjoy it. I love these children more than I think they could ever understand (maybe one day when they have little ones of their own, or maybe not even then!), and I love staying home with them. I wouldn’t trade this time with them for anything. The bickering is just a struggle. I’m trying to view it as a chance for GROWTH and LEARNING. (Right?)

On a funny note, Maggie told me this morning that Miller was “not obeying the Bible” because he took two books from her. Oh, dear! J

College Town

For six years, we've been talking about visiting Tuscaloosa on a weekday so we could eat at our favorite restaurant from 2001 to 2005--City Cafe (only the best "country cookin'" place EVER). Well, Friday was Jeff's last day of summer before school starts Monday, and we finally decided to make the trip.

We were excited about showing Maggie and Miller where Mommy and Daddy went to college, and I just KNEW they would like City Cafe as much as we do. I was totally right. In the middle of lunch, Maggie said, "We need to move here to your college town." Ha!

After lunch we took the kids to the "big field" (the quad) to play and look around. They got to run around playing hide-and-go-seek and tag, look around inside the library, and hear Denny Chimes chime. Sounds simple, but they had a great time, and so did we.

Here are some pictures from our "college town" trip.

 Can't even believe how big my "baby girl" is

 Miller's "happy face"

 Miller's "surprise face"

Prissy little lady!

Thought for the day

Over the past few years, we've had some friends and family go through some really tough times. When I pray for them, the words "comfort" and "peace" always flow, but honestly, sometimes I have to pray that God give them the things only HE knows they need.

I always have a song stuck in my head, and I'm always humming or singing (much to my family's dismay, I'm sure. I know they get tired of it!).

One song that has been on my heart big time lately, as evidenced by my humming it constantly, is this one...

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

Isn't this so true?

Sometimes, "Lord, I need you," is the only prayer I can offer. Sometimes "Lord, they need you," is the only prayer I can offer. And I am so joyful to know that He DOES answer prayers.

Gyro Bowls

We always see this infomercial on TV for gyro bowls--these really complicated looking snack bowls that are supposed to keep the food from being able to fall out even if they are dropped, thrown, etc. Miller really wants one. He just saw the infomercial for the millionth time and said "Gywo bowls! They SO cute." Oh, dear...

Exterically Funny Kids...

Maggie and Miller have been making us laugh constantly. Their ways of saying things are so…unique.

Maggie was telling us a story yesterday about our friend Colby having a blister on his foot and said, “I mean, like, he was crying exterically.”

She also was so excited to see the “mapingos” (you know, “those birds that stand on one foot”?) at the zoo yesterday and told Jeff when we got home that she also saw a snake and a “pasta” (opossum). ?

She’s becoming more and more expressive (which we didn’t think possible) and is always making us giggle.

Miller’s new expression is “So-and-so is my favorite…” used in the following scenarios: “This is my favorite toy.” “You are my favorite friend” (said when I bought him his “favorite toy” at Target yesterday). “This is my favorite show” (said of Justice League—really??). “Batman is my favorite superhero.” You get it. He has quite a bit of favorites.

He asked me to put a bobby pin in his hair last night and then said, “I’m a pretty princess. I like this.” He’s still very into all things pink and princess-y, but he’s also really starting to get into superheroes, cars, trucks, bulldozers, and the like, and his love of all things pirate has grown immensely.

In other news, Mags learned how to swim this week! She’s been trying all summer, and a couple of days ago, it just clicked. That was a big goal of mine for her this summer, and I’m proud of her. The best part was seeing how excited she was when she realized she did it.

I’ll have to write down some of the “exterical” things M&M say this week so I can post them soon…

Blast from the Past...

We kept Emma Clare, a long-time friend of Maggie's, last night, and I was thinking how much she and Maggie have grown. Emma Clare is two years older than Maggie--She's six and going into the first grade. Here is a video of the two of them playing a looong time ago (four years??). What's funny is that as much as they have grown, their cute little personalities are much the same...

Summer Catch-Up

We’ve had such a fun (and BUSY) summer that I haven’t taken time to post in a while. Here are a few highlights…

Father’s Day: We spent Father’s Day at home this year because we’d just gotten back from the beach. But I can’t let this opportunity pass to say how thankful we are for our dads. We have been blessed with two of the most patient, wise, loving, and Godly fathers. They live their lives (and always have) in a way that sets the standards high for their family, and they always put their children’s needs before their own. And I am so thankful for Jeff and the awesome dad he is to M and M. So often I get comments about what a wonderful Daddy he is. I knew he’d be a great Daddy, so I’m not surprised. I love getting to see him in his element—loving and taking care of others. He has such a special place in his heart for his children, and he is incredibly dedicated to them. Best of all, it is obvious on a daily basis how much he loves M and M, and I am thankful beyond words for that. No wonder he’s the favorite parent…

Jeff’s birthday: Some neighbors came over and helped us celebrate Jeff’s 28^th birthday. I cooked his favorite meal (Pizza Hut pasta and breadsticks)J, and we celebrated by eating cake and embarrassing him with the “Happy Birthday” song (He can’t stand having this sung to him). It was a fun day celebrating a wonderful person!

Our 6^th anniversary!: I’ve bragged on Jeff plenty above but have to say again how BLESSED I am to be married to this man. I can’t believe it’s been six years already. (I've posted various wedding pictures the past couple of years--here and here--but below is one of Jeff's favorites...)

Baseball games and cousins: We’ve gotten to go to a few of our nephews’ baseball games. It is so fun watching them grow up, and I can’t believe what little studs they are on the baseball field! We got to have Landon spend an afternoon with us and Jackson spend the night with us, and our kids were beside themselves with excitement. They love their cousins. (We've also enjoyed getting to see their little baby doll brother Camden, who has to be one of the best babies ever.) (Below is a picture of Maggie and Jackson, who both chose to wear footed PJ's in June...ha!)

AND, my sister Candace’s family just moved to Georgia this week! They lived near Little Rock, Arkansas (about a day’s drive from here), for years and then moved to Arizona last fall. I was secretly (or not-so-secretly?) bummed to have them move all the way across the country but knew they needed to do what was best for their family. But I am thrilled to have them close-by now (just a 3.5-hour drive, I think) and can’t wait to meet their newest addition, Wilson!

I’ve probably forgotten plenty, but I’ll post as I remember. Hope everyone is having a good summer and staying cool in the blazing heat…

Beach Trip (Picture Overload)

We took a beach trip this past week and had such a fun time! This was the first "real" vacation we've taken with M&M. I don't know what it is about being away together as a family, but it was just such a sweet experience. Yes, there was lots of bickering between the kids (not the adults, I promise), but it brought us so much closer and was really the refresher we needed.

We spent a good bit of time at the beach and the condo's pool (It was so cool...It had a place just the right size for the kids), but we also covered a lot of other ground. Here are some pictures...

Miller getting ready to go to the pool...What a stud! 

 Maggie was so good in the restaurants, and we learned that she loves crab claws. Who knew?

 I told my mom I let the kids ride the ferris wheel, and she said she was going to have DHR take them away from me. Eh, they had fun. ;-)

 Maggie has wanted to do this bungee cord thing for forever (They have one at the Galleria and she asks every time we go), and we finally let her. She flipped several times, and I think my heart stopped every time she went up in the air. She had fun and begged to do it again. (Maybe later!)

 We went to the zoo, and it was so neat. The animals were lively...We got to watch two tigers fight, and Miller LOVED feeding the farm animals.

 This is how Miller played every hole during putt-putt. He putted from an inch beside the hole. Smart boy if you ask me!

 Maggie got a kick out of being eaten by the shark at Sharky's! Can you tell?

This little lady was very competitive during putt-putt. I wonder where she got that quality... 

 This picture wasn't even posed...promise. They really do love each other. I love watching their sibling relationship develop. They can be bickering one minute and holding hands the next.

And here are some family beach pictures...sorry for the picture overload. Hey, there were 404!