Three's A Charm

Valentine Surprises

2012-02-15T21:16:00.000-06:00

JJ made Mommy a card at school- so sweet it made me cry. Many, many prayers have been answered regarding JJ in the past few months.

My sweet husband gave me some beautiful flowers.

Sydney went with him to pick them out and chose these for me...

her main criteria was "find the most pink ones."

A silhouette of my sweet girl, made at her school.

What a sweet surprise...I love this!

Luke is a bit young to make anything

(except a mess), but he is truly an amazing gift!!!

My family made my Valentine's Day very special indeed!

Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T21:37:00.001-06:00

Three beautiful valentines...2012

Our princess was excited to write on her own princess valentines for her friends!

JJ's first time doing valentines

He wanted to write his name (on left). Not bad!

Both are proud of their handprint heart crafts we made over the weekend

They each did their own handprints, and big sister added the wording.

I think his handprints look bigger than hers!?!?

Tomorrow will be a very fun day for both of them...Valentine's Day party time at school!

Wish I could be there too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tough Week, but :) Speech Update

2012-02-11T21:12:00.000-06:00

Overall, our family has been weathering a pretty tough week. Someone we love very much was diagnosed earlier in the week with a very serious illness, and we have been spending much of the week praying, researching, learning and searching for answers. We don't have many answers yet, but look ahead to another significant doctor's appointment on Leap Day.
-------
On Friday, while Sydney was at school, JJ and I (Luke too!) attended Preschool Storytime at church. We listened to Ms. Cindy read, made crafts, played, and of course, bounced!

God made the dark starry sky & the bright sun too! Can you tell he was proud of his art work?!

We have not been able to attend many of these events because we have been going to speech for the past five months on Friday mornings at 9am. Last Friday, Ms. Lauren, who has been working with JJ each week, decided it was time to reassess where we were. We all knew that he had progressed so much, especially since mid December, but the results blew us away!!

She called me on Tuesday to discuss the results. Just to compare, when JJ was assessed in early September, his actual age was 2 years and almost 5 months. His comprehension was that of a 2 year old 8 months but his verbal expressiveness was that of a 1 year 9 month old. As far as speech, we were at least 8 months "behind."

Fast forward about 5 months....

The same assessment was given a week ago ( his actual age is 2 years and 9 months). His comprehension is now that of a 3 year 10 month old and his verbal expressiveness that of a 3 year 6 month old. ( Speech of a 3 1/2 year old!!!!!) Another assessment she gave showed the identical results!

She told us that he would no longer "qualify" !!!! for the school system's preschool program for 3 & 4 year olds with speech (or other) extra needs. He speech is too advanced! Also, she sees no reason for us to continue his visits. We are so proud of him and, of course, thrilled that we chose this path!

And we are happy that our Fridays can now be filled with stories, crafts, bouncing and playing!

Getaway With My Girls

2012-02-06T21:14:00.002-06:00

This past weekend, I went on an adventure with 10 amazing women! We left Fri afternoon and journeyed to Grand Rivers (Land Between the Lakes) to Brittany's in-laws lake house. From top left, Brooke, Britt, me, Dwan, Gretchen, Kelli, Kara, Karen, Catherine, Michelle & LeAnn. Together, we study the Word, celebrate, laugh, cry and support each other as our families and our hearts for Jesus continue to grow.

What an amazing place with a gorgeous view!

Our husbands so graciously took excellent care of the kids while we were gone...and I think even spoiled them a bit :) They also caught onto our excitement in the weeks leading up to the trip and Jeff and others began referring to it as the "slumber party." I think they pretty much thought we were crazy. A little silly for a group of women in our 30's?? Maybe so.

Let's see here....together we ate some amazing pizza and treats, laughed, played silly games (note the champs below!), talked, watched silly videos, and laughed more-like "til it hurt" laughing!

Oh yhea, we also slept- a little, from about 3am til 7am, and then up again. Definitely worth it to spend more time together!

On Saturday, we hung out at the house and then drove to Patti's, which is just down the street. If you've ever been to Western Kentucky (or likely even if you haven't) you have heard of Patti's. Our meal was awesome!

At Patti's, we had a little surprise for Dwan :). The staff and those eating in the same room sang to her since this Wednesday is her birthday. They brought her a nice looking hat and a yummy special treat too!

And for the first time in my life, I took pictures with a pink tractor.

Brooke, this last picture is for you-they got you but we were all that tired. One of us (not me!) was even tucked in by her 5 year old daughter at 7:45 Sat night :)

What a great memory! My girls...love them!!!...one huge blessing in my life!

Circus & Randomness

2012-01-29T21:46:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, Daddy took Sydney went on an afternoon date and to the WKU game. She came home with a toy from Walmart that I had said "no" to at least five times. I couldn't help but smile (and laugh)....after all, that's what happens when you go out with your Daddy :)

I returned to campus on for work on Tuesday, so we are readjusting to our modified routine.

We tried out our "new toy" on Wednesday night...fun & yummy too!

We'll be eating more of these on our trip to WDW in a few weeks....only I won't be the one cooking them :)

Thursday we took the kids to the circus in Nashville. It was so good and Sydney and JJ really loved it. We kept it a surprise until we actually got to the arena. Jeff only gave them one clue-elephant. Sydney was confused because she didn't think it was a good night to go to the zoo (it was pouring rain).

During the show, they were pretty much mesmorized. Sydney's favorite thing was the "parade" which included all of the animals and performers. JJ loved the elephants ("elfants") and every few minutes would ask me "where elphants?" (there were 7!) We thought they would be scared of the clowns but they loved them too! Luke seemed to enjoy and stayed awake until about the last 30 minutes.

I look forward to taking them to the circus again next year or sometime soon when baby brother can enjoy even more!

Friday at speech therapy, Miss Lauren told me that JJ was scoring between 80-100% on each of the initial goals she set for him starting back in September! She is amazed at how well he is progressing and responding and we are too. Last week, he put a seven word sentence together very clearly!!!! She plans to reassess him this week to see how much progress he has made in the last 5 months, so I am excited about that.

Friday night I took Sydney and Luke on a dinner/grocery shopping date :) while Daddy took JJ to a birthday party for one of his school friends.

Yesterday, we spent the day in Louisville with Jeff's family watching our niece Makayla play with her select volleyball team in a tournament. It was a great day!

A Little Snow

2012-01-18T14:58:00.000-06:00

We got a small amount of snow (maybe 1/2 inch) on Thurs night/Fri morning.

It was enough snow that Sydney & JJ were both running into our room before 7 am Friday wanting to build a snowman. :) When I got up and looked outside and broke the news to them that we didn't have enough snow for that, Sydney said "but can we just run around making footprints and playing? please, mommy, please."

So, before breakfast and before Lukey was even awake, we got them bundled up to play in the snow. JJ did not like the snow last year, so this was really a first for him. They had fun running, trying to make snowballs, & going down the snow-covered slide, but hope for more next time!

They both want to build a big snowman with Daddy and Sydney wants to go to Craig & Krista's to sled.

Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-15T19:51:00.003-06:00

I want to play pretend princess and school more. Crafts and games (also things she loves) will also be a priority for me and my girl. I want to spend just a few more moments talking Jesus and life with her at bedtime.

I want to play trains and read books more with my big boy. Puzzles and letters (things that have become big interests recently) will also be an emphasis for the two of us. I want to scratch his back just a little longer when he lays down for naps and at night.

I want to spend more time playing on the floor & holding my baby boy (when he will let me). Longer baths with more splashing (which consistenly bring BIG smiles) will be another priority. I want to be there when he first walks on his own, runs outside and (hopefully) happily plays in the sand.

These are all things I look forward to in 2012. I really can't believe how fast they are all three growing and changing.

1st Birthday Party

2012-01-13T15:40:00.001-06:00

Luke's 1st birthday was also the day of his party!

We all had such a great time at his party! Unfortunately, some of Luke's biggest fans were unable to attend due to sickness & schedules. It was great to have Granny & Papaw and our special friends the Hastes, Richeys & Jennettes alongside us for his fun celebration! We are incredibly blessed with a supportive family and Christian family friends to raise our kids alongside!

We enjoyed lunch, visiting with everyone, reliving moments from Luke's first year & opening some special gifts...but (without a doubt!) the best part was watching our sweet boy with his special mini-cake! If he could tell me what he enjoyed most, I'm certain what his answer would be. Here's a look of how the event unfolded:

Let the fun begin!

....

Oh my! My friend Stacy says this is the best first birthday picture ever....I agree!

I don't have a picture of him after I took the cake away-let's just say he

wasn't too happy with Mommy, and didn't recover even to open his presents!

So glad you had a special first birthday celebration Lukey-love you!

One Year Checkup

2012-01-11T13:29:00.000-06:00

Luke went to his doctor for his one year checkup yesterday and measured at 23 lb, 12 ounces and 30 inches. This puts him between the 75th and 90th percentile for weight, height & head size as well. He had three shots but handled them like a champ. Now that he is one, all specific food restrictions are gone....I'll be getting this sweet boy some peanut butter soon!

More coming on his 1st birthday party...love this smiling face!

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!!!!

2012-01-06T20:15:00.000-06:00

Somehow(?!?!) tomorrow is January 7th, 2012...and my baby boy will be one in just a few hours!

How blessed we are to have our sweet Lukey as a part of this family. Before Luke was born we wondered how we would manage life with three little ones. Now, it is so hard to imagine our life without the happiness that this little boy has brought to all of us.

At one year, Luke has eight teeth, crawls fast! and is pretty much into everything. If we tell him "No!", he looks at us and laughs or smiles really big. He is pulling up, but not taking any steps yet. Luke is eating all "real food" and enjoys eating almost anything. However, in recent days, he has become a bit more picky and enjoys throwing (some things like) bananas and peaches on the floor in favor of things like pasta and crackers :)

The "words" he uses most often are DaDa, Mama, ByeBye (will wave) and Yhea! (claps when he says this). He is the last one to wake up at our house every single day and most mornings we wake him up at 9:00. I know I've said this before, but he truly has been the easiest baby ever.

From Google...The word "JOY" is defined as "A feeling of great pleasure and happiness" or "A thing that causes joy." Synonyms listed are delight, gladness, rejoicing, pleasure. That is my word for sweet Luke-joy!

Lukey-We love you so much! It is such a JOY for us to be your family and to celebrate your 1st birthday with you tomorrow!

2011

2012-01-04T09:44:00.001-06:00

2011 was a great year for our family and before we move more into 2012, I wanted to take a moment to look back at a few of the highligts from the year we just finished!The first week of January provided the biggest highlight of our 2011, as we welcomed Luke Asher to our family on January 7th! Now we find ourselves days away from his 1st birthday!

We spent the rest of January adjusting to life as a family of 5.
February brought Luke's first smiles, Valentine's Day, and a bit of snow, which Sydney really enjoyed. JJ-not so much! I continued to take some time "off," just enjoying hanging out at home with the kids.

In March, I returned to work two afternoon/evenings per week, we watched a lot of basketball :) and Sydney attended a special princess party at her school.

April brought warmer weather & playing outside, the start of Sydney's swim lessons, egg hunts and Easter. JJ celebrated his 2nd birthday at church with his family and a few friends, who had the honor of "breaking in" the new bouncy house at church!

We celebrated Mother's Day and Luke's Baby Dedication on the same day in May. Sydney finished up gymnastics for the year and later in the summer decided to retire the leotard for some soccer cleats. We also visited the zoo, picked a ton of strawberries and celebrated Sydney's 4th birthday with friends at school and at home with family-princess style!

In June, we took our first trip as 5 & visited our families, saw Luke's first teeth, enjoyed the pool & played volleyball in a league at church. Sydney attended VBS at Holy Trinity.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Jeff attended a national conference for work in D.C. and took Sydney, Luke & me along. It was a great trip!

JJ spent some quality time with his Nana & Buddy and Granny & Papaw for the 6 days we were gone. We had Backyard Bible at church, celebrated my 33rd birthday, spent a weekend in Louisville with friends and enjoyed our pool membership more!

In August, Jeff and I took a weekend trip to Ohio to a PGA tournament, while the kids stayed with Nana & Buddy. We went to Holiday World. Sydney started preschool at ELC and JJ started at BGCA. Luke started going to our friend Sarah's two days a week. Our family returned to a more normal schedule as I returned to work at WKU and even took on an extra class at a local high school two mornings a week. The five of us took a trip to Lebanon to pick fresh peaches and blueberries. It was Jeff's turn to be 33 and he also started playing in a basketball league at church. I was "initiated" as a Starbucks sister. JJ transitioned to sleeping in his toddler bed, and actually stayed in it!

September was the beginning of soccer for Sydney and also the month JJ started his weekly speech therapy at the Medical Center.

Jeff also made his debut as coach.

Luke became much more mobile as he learned to scoot and "army crawl" all over the place. We visited Thomas the Train in Nashville over Labor Day weekend. Our friend Emily took Sydney on her first field trip (Chaney's) with her classmates. WKU's football season kicked off, and we always enjoy attending the home games. Also in September, all three of our kids were sick at the same time. For nine straight days, at least one of them ran a temperature. Thankfully, besides JJ having pink eye in December, they have not been sick again.
October was big. We started the month at the beach, and continued with soccer practices and games all month. We went to Jackson's Orchard, took a day to travel back and forth to Powell Co for a special birthday, participated in the Medical Center 5K classic, and enjoyed several Halloween parties, trick or treat events, etc.

Halloween was a lot of fun with a princess, a choo choo and a worm :)

This year, October was also Homecoming for us and the kids favorite was the parade!

November was the end of soccer season. Our "star" scored 7 goals in her last game! Jeff and John surprised the girls with trophies.

We enjoyed Lukey's first Thanksgiving, time with our families and of course, Mommy enjoyed Black Friday.
December is time to celebrate the birth of Jesus! We began preparing by celebrating Advent with the kids beginning in late November and their favorite part was hearing the stories we read each day and singing "Let it Shine" while holding their flashlights up in the air. We celebrated Christmas at various gathering and parties with coworkers, friends, and family. Sydney's Christmas program at school was one of the major highlights of the entire year for us. We visited Santa Cow at Chickfila, "rode" on the Polar Express, and visited the "real Santa" at a friend's party. Jeff and I (um, I mean Santa) spent 10 hours building a train table :) This is the first year Sydney made a list for Santa and he delivered! December is also the month that JJ's speech really took off! We traveled mid month, but had a fun birthday party for Jesus and wonderful Christmas at home with the kids. Then we brought in the New Year with a visit from Jeff's sister and her family and hosted a party for close friends from church and their kids.

And now...it's January! We have a big birthday coming up in 3 days and the kids want snow! We are unbelievably thankful for all the memories and special times God has given us and we're ready for more adventures, milestones and excitement in 2012!

Dressing Up (and Speaking Up)!!

2012-01-03T20:35:00.007-06:00

We had a great weekend leading into 2012, starting off with an overnight visit from Sydney, JJ and Luke's aunt and uncle & three cousins.

We shopped, ate, laughed, and just enjoyed fun times together. Sydney and her cousin Lilly are very good friends...they are so lucky to be just a little over 3 months apart. They played everything, but their favorite thing to do is dress up like their favorite princesses. The would dress up and change costumes over and over again. The princesses danced and sang for us...it was so much fun to just watch them in action together :)

Princesses Belle & Ariel

Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty sporting their shades

The next day after their visit, JJ decided he wanted to join in on the dress up fun. He said "wear my Thomas, Thomas choo choo train."

Princess Rapunzel with Thomas

-----
In other JJ news...his speech has SO taken off over the past 2-3 weeks...it is really amazing! We are having so many moments now that we look at each other like "I can't believe he just said that!" And almost all of these new words (and old words) he is using are now so clear as he is stressing the ending sounds of them. This is great news because it means he is learning his "new" words correctly and correcting "old" words that he was inaccurate with before.

At his speech session last Friday (he had missed 2 weeks due to Christmas travels), his teacher/speech therapist came out of their session so excited. She could not believe how much he was saying! She even told me that she was going to have to work on setting some new goals for him because he has now met or exceeded most all the goals she set when he began going in September. This afternoon, when Jeff picked him up from school (his first day back in three weeks), they were immediately bragging on him and said he was talking so much at school today :) We are so happy about his progress!

Christmas Day

2011-12-29T13:02:00.000-06:00

When the kids finally woke up on Christmas at 7:30 (late for them), SG and JJ ran to our room with Sydney yelling "it's Christmas!" Then, they ran into the kitchen and the first thing she did was yell "baby Jesus is here...he's here now." Baby Jesus does not arrive in our nativity scene until Christmas morning and this has become a big deal to her. After that, she told us that we should eat breakfast......what?!?! Anyway, after quickly giving them some grapes and milk, they headed into the family room to open their stockings and then headed upstairs to some

Christmas morning surprises!

A train table & a Rapunzel doll with a couple extras. They were very excited!

Can you tell how much JJ likes his train table?!?! ( I hope so, because it took us about 8-9 hours to put together...building the table, stations etc, setting the tracks and then hot gluing most of it. It's still a bit fragile for a 2 year old but we're hopeful he will continue being careful with it??)

This was our first year giving three gifts to each of the kids and for now, we are doing one Santa gift and three gifts from us. We agreed that this was a good decision for our family and of course, they all received more than enough! Sydney received a princess costume, a toy and a "craft bin" I created full of activities and crafts for us to do. JJ received two small Thomas trains, a game, and a Cars sleeping bag with pillow. Luke received a leapfrog birthday cake. No, not three this year but he has more than enough to play with :)

One great part about Christmas this year was that it fell on a Sunday, so after we opened presents, played & ate breakfast, we took a few photos before church

The favorite gift in 2011-celebrating with this crew!

Pre Christmas

2011-12-27T20:48:00.002-06:00

Part of the fun of Christmas. . . the events leading up to the big day and also spending quality time with family and special friends at various homes/gathering spots. I wish we had a picture of more of the special moments, and with everyone we had the pleasure to spend time with this year. Sometimes with our "little" family it's a bit too hectic :) to capture all the pictures we would like.

I love this picture of Luke with his great grandfather Ralph, who turned 93 in September. After a serious fall this past spring, he is doing so well!

Here are all six of the cousins at Granny's house. I guess we got one of six to actually look at the camera (and she's 13)....oh well-they are still cute!

Here they are with our sweet friend Avery at Chickfila...her sister was not in the mood to be in a picture without Mommy :)

SG, JJ & LA with their Nana and Buddy

Below, see Sydney & JJ sprinkling "reindeer food"
out in the yard on Christmas Eve night

This might not seem like a big deal.

But, this is the first time I can remember Luke and JJ playing together for more than a few seconds :) The toy was a gift from Nanny to Luke, and JJ also loved it since it has balls that pop up and around. Luke quickly figured out that big brother knew where to put the loose balls and he would hand them to him again and again.

Luke's First Christmas

2011-12-25T22:42:00.014-06:00

Last night was Luke's first "Happy Birthday Jesus" party.

He liked the hat with stickers that Sydney made for him...he is such a joy!

We started this party tradition last year as I was attempting to establish Christ-centered traditions for our kids. Based on the first two years, I think this will now always be a part of our Christmas Eve. Sydney and I made strawberry cupcakes and white chocolate pretzels on Christmas Eve morning.

Later in the afternoon, she and JJ made nativity placemats and I laminated them.

Last night, we enjoyed treats, watched The Very First Noel, read the Christmas story, sang Happy Birthday and finished another craft.
---------
Back to Lukey...look what he started doing on Christmas Eve...(no more army crawl, it's the real thing!) Watch out-he's fast!

He was happy this morning to find some things he enjoys in his stocking :)

And, found it just as much fun to play with tissue paper as the actual gifts

This "cake" sings the happy birthday song and let's you "blow out" the candles. He's getting practice for his big day on January 7...oh my!

Christmas is Here!

2011-12-24T22:16:00.000-06:00

We have been travelling, and spending lots of time with family, friends and each other. Lots of memories to catch up on soon, but now-we are just excited to celebrate the birth of the One who changed the world forever. Happy Birthday to Jesus!!!

PJ's, Pancakes & Santa

2011-12-15T05:22:00.002-06:00

Sydney's friend Adriana turns five this week and we celebrated last weekend-A PJ's, Pancakes Breakfast with Santa party! Her Dad and Mom have also become good friends of ours over the past few months and we all five had a great time at this party!

Sydney eating pancakes with the birthday girl :)

Santa had story time with the kids

(notice one little boy who fit himself in between all the girls?!)

He visited with each of them several times, giving them jingle bells and cards

(She told Santa she wanted a Rapunzel doll and he told her "we are working on that")

At the beginning of the party, my little man was (literally) hiding from Santa, but he warmed up.

By the end of the party you could see him sitting in Santa's lap and whispering "choo choo"

Luke was okay with Santa this time, but I wouldn't say overly impressed

Another fun thing they got to do---make "reindeer food!"

Fun, fun party!

Starbucks Sisters

2011-12-13T20:53:00.000-06:00

Four months ago, my sweet friend Brittany invited me to a 6am Monday morning bible study at Starbucks. Now, I'm not exactly into getting up at 5am (especially on Mondays!), and I hate coffee, but I love this friend so I gave it a shot.

(Somehow, unbelievably, Britt and I have only been friends for a little over a year-but we have this amazing friendship that doesn't come many times in the span of life. )

So...fast forward to today, three studies complete and many early Mondays- and I can now count 11 sweet girls as amazing friends and sisters in Christ. Some of these women I have been blessed to know for years, while others just since August. Last night, we gathered to celebrate the birth of our Savior. And here we are (minus Dwan-missed you!) at Olive Garden last night.

Merry Christmas Starbucks Sisters!...looking forward to early Monday mornings with you in 2012!

Party Animals

2011-12-12T23:13:00.006-06:00

We were getting out some of the party supplies for our Happy Birthday Jesus party (Christmas Eve) and they just couldn't resist trying the hats. (Love the way he's sporting these sunglasses too!) They crack me up.

Christmas Program

2011-12-11T21:37:00.009-06:00

Last week, Sydney's class joined with the other Tues/Thurs P4 class and had their Christmas Program. They had been working so hard since early November and did a wonderful job at the performance! We loved every second of it and Sydney was so happy. In all, the group sang 7 or 8 songs, along with 3 short skits. She sang very good in the beginning and the end but took a break in the middle :). When I asked her why she said just because she was so happy. It was obvious that she was, and we were so proud of our princess! Jeff and I (and Sydney) were excited that Granny & Papaw made the trip to see the show!

Here is a part of one of their songs:

For one song, they pulled a kazoo out of their
stocking necklaces and played for us:

In one skit, Sydney was one of three kings:

We had literally been counting down the days til the program because she was that excited about it. The day did not disappoint-she loved it, and we did too- most certainly one of my proudest times as a Mommy to date.

Santa Cow & "Choo Choo Santie"

2011-12-09T10:30:00.000-06:00

Look how content my sweet baby is just
sitting with this ridiculous looking cow :)

Sydney loved him too. Even Jeff got in on the fun.

Yet, someone from our family is missing from the Santa Cow pictures and I'm not referring to myself. A certain 2 year old boy kept saying "No! Go choo choo Santie ho ho ho" "Go choo choo Santie ho ho ho!" He knew that we were heading to the Polar Express event after dinner, and was ready to move forward with that part of the night! So we did...

And, here they were, anxiously waiting for the conductor to say "All aboard!"

After boarding the train and listening to the story, it was time to go...but not before we met someone special.

She was so excited to give him her list. He loved the list and Mommy was a bit sad to leave it behind.

You can't tell from this photo but JJ liked this Santa. ("Santie ho ho ho")

Luke took one look at him and screamed in his face. :) I guess he preferred the cow.

All in all, a very fun night for our crew!

Blessed...

2011-12-08T08:32:00.001-06:00

Blessed to "do life" with

these amazing friends

these God honoring men

and these precious children (too many precious children
to capture in this photo ~30)!

(Pictures from our Christmas party last weekend)

1 Month Away from 1

2011-12-07T10:42:00.002-06:00

Lately, he

celebrated his first Thanksgiving (favorites included

mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie!)

and opened his very first Christmas present!

We love our Lukey so much! He makes Christmas in 2011 even more exciting!

List for Santa

2011-12-05T21:51:00.004-06:00

We will see Santa tomorrow night at the Polar Express event and Sydney decided she wanted to make a list to give him:

It is very Sydney-decorated with her signature rainbow and sparkly style :). I love so much that this is her "list." The list-it's one thing. If you ask her if there's more for the list, the answer is "no."

A few weeks ago she was sitting with me on the couch while I was clipping coupons...and she looked through the entire Walmart Christmas Toy catalog. She found one thing she wanted (the item on her list above) and one thing "we should get" for her brother JJ (a Cars racetrack). That.was.it.

I'm more than sure Santa is on top of her request.

Here she is tonight at the mall ringing the bell. She loved this, and was much more successful gathering donations than either one of us :)

Preparing for the sweetest birthday ever

2011-12-01T21:23:00.005-06:00

This year, more than ever, we find ourselves fighting the world's distorted idea of the Christmas season...you know-shopping, pretty decorations, making lists, Santa, etc. Just for the record, we have nothing against any of these things (and enjoy some of them very much!)

Yet, we are working so hard to keep Jesus and his birth the true focus for our children. Since Sunday, we have been celebrating Advent...every night-us five-lighting a candle, singing songs about Jesus, reading scripture and a devotion. Sydney and JJ are really enjoying this sweet time we spend after dinner.

And, in 2010 we started the Christmas Eve tradition of having a birthday party for Jesus. Kids (and this Mommy too) love birthday parties :) so this is a great way for us to begin our special Christmas celebration. Again this year, Sydney and I will bake a special treat and then we will watch The Very First Noel, read the Christmas story and talk about the gifts we have given to Jesus this Christmas. It is difficult for a child to understand how we can give birthday gifts to Jesus when he is in heaven..... so we reflect on his word...

Matthew 25: 31-40 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

We cannot physically give Jesus a gift for his birthday, but we can help others in some very small ways and tangibly teach/remind/guide our children through simple acts of service.

Our gifts Christmas 2011:
1-Compiling/mailing two boxes for children served through Operation Christmas Child
2-Donating food and volunteering time (us with Sydney) at Hope House
3-Serving as a bell ringers (Jeff, Sydney and I) one shift for the Salvation Army
4-Adopting an angel from the Angel Tree with another couple

These are small gifts, yet (hopefully) very real reminders for our entire family what this season is all about. After reading and talking with some friends I really respect, we have also decided to do 3 gifts per child. As Noel Piper wrote in her book Treasuring God in Our Traditions (love this book!)...."if three gifts were good enough for Jesus, I think that's good enough for my children too."

Turkeys

2011-11-23T22:23:00.000-06:00

Meet my two turkeys showing off their
"hand" made Thanksgiving crafts

Big buddies these two turkeys are...BIG buddies!

Thankful

2011-11-17T22:00:00.009-06:00

Psalm 106:1 Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Thankful for Jesus. Thankful that is nearly time to celebrate his birthday! Thankful for God's grace and his hand in my life. Thankful for all the truth revealed in his Word.

Thankful for Jeff. Thankful for my family, church, friends, home, health, resources & job.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Thankful for three perfect gifts.

Thankful they call me Mommy.

Thankful God entrusted us with them.

Thankful he has blessed me so abundantly.

Psalm 30:12 That my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Season Finale

2011-11-11T21:31:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, Sydney's soccer team (The Zoom) played their last game of the season. Coach Jeff and Coach John presented them with trophies.

Can you tell how happy/proud these girls were to receive such a special gift?

And just so I won't forget my soccer star's performance in her season finale-she scored 7(!!!) goals. Pretty sure there will be more soccer for her in the near future!

Parade

2011-11-06T21:04:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago, we attended the Homecoming Parade.

We gathered with three other families between campus and the square to watch the floats, cars, band, and wait for the candy! Between the parade and Halloween, SG and JJ have loaded up on candy lately! We played Louisiana this year, and the students had plenty of necklaces for them as well.

Part of the crew waits with anticipation.

First parade!!!!

The students made sure SG and JJ were well taken care of.

Showing off a few of his necklaces...not sure if you can tell,
but his pockets are so stuffed with candy.

Toppers won the Homecoming game and their 5th in a row on Saturday...happy for our team and to see coach seeing success as things are turning around.

Lots of Treats

2011-11-01T21:38:00.009-05:00

We dressed up and went to Sydney's school for their Trunks of Treats on Sunday night. Monday night, we did the same at our church. The kids had a lot of fun-all five of us did!

We saw lots of friends and Luke even met some special guests :)

The reason only Luke met them?...Because the princess and the train were hiding behind me!

More fun...

And, today Luke and I attended Sydney's Halloween (costume) parade and party at school. Here, her class stops after the parade for a photo.

To sum up Halloween 2011...Snow White and Thomas (and the glowworm too) have had a big time...a very fun time...and we have so enjoyed being a part of their fun!

Happy Halloween...

2011-10-31T06:55:00.000-05:00

From a princess, a train and a glowworm!

Dress Rehearsal

2011-10-30T14:39:00.006-05:00

The countdown to trick or treat is on! (The glowworm did not participate in this dress rehearsal)

Friday morning, Luke, Thomas the train and I stopped by JJ's school for the class Halloween party. It was so much fun to be there with him at his school. At the party, the kids dressed up in their costumes, painted pumpkins, played games, and ate pizza, fruit & cupcakes.

Thomas joined superman, blue M & M, a princess, strawberry, fairy, flower and a few others.

Thanks Ms. Minter for a fun party...and for loving on JJ every school day!

So thankful that I get to be a part of these things...Sydney's costume parade/party at school is Tuesday!

Jackson's

2011-10-29T09:03:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, we visited Jackson's Orchard for the pumpkin festival with Granny and Papaw. We were blessed with beautiful weather and a great time!

One highlight of the trip was the playground which included their favorite, the "Cider Slider." Sydney and JJ loved it, although JJ always wanted one of us to ride down with him. (It is pretty tall.) He alternated between Mommy, Daddy & Granny.

Last year Sydney was scared of the Cider Slider and when we told her this she said, "Well, not this year. This year I just love it."

After the playground, we went on a hayride (JJ's first). He loved it and did not want to get off!

We also had treats, picked out our pumpkins & forced the kids to take some pictures ... :).

Picking out pumpkins...JJ just kept loading them! We would take them out, and he would go find more. Can you tell how intent he was as he lifted them into his wagon?!

("if I scream "cheese" loud enough, will you stop?")

Taking the pumpkins to the van!

Just too cute to pass up the chance to share:

I think he enjoyed his first trip to Jackson's too!

Our Rewards

2011-10-26T06:10:00.000-05:00

Psalm 127:3 Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him

Happy Fall!

Luke @ 9 months

2011-10-24T08:38:00.000-05:00

Friday, Luke had his 9 month checkup.

Sydney and JJ tagged along with me as all three got flu shots.

Luke weighs 22 lb, 2 oz, and is 30 inches long. This puts him in the 80th percentile for weight and the 97th for height. His head is in the 90th. (He weighs one less pound than JJ @ 9 months, but is 1/2 inch longer).

His overall health report was very good! His doctor said we can give him any food we feel he is ready to try, except peanut products after he turns 1!

He is "army" crawling and scooting, rolling all over the place. His hair is getting long and he sits up on his own very well. He loves "baby cheetos," yogurt and the Jumperoo, and says "dada," "mama" and "hi." He hates socks.

We are pretty much crazy about our baby boy!

Saturday

2011-10-21T09:22:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, we...

finished the Medical Center 5K- first year as a "team" of 5.

enjoyed watching Sydney play soccer and score 4(!!!!) goals-her best game yet!

gathered the team for some photos.

travelled to Powell Co to celebrate the 5th birthday of a special princess.

A great day!

Sweet Reminder

2011-10-19T09:49:00.003-05:00

JJ is 2, full of energy, and creativity :) He can "test" my patience like a pro. He is also very sweet.

His teacher at BGCA has been so encouraging and JJ loves her. The note I got from her late last week said:
"One of the highlights of my morning is seeing JJ when he gets to school. He always has that BIG smile and he runs in and gives me a BIG hug-what a way to start off our day together!"

Jeff drops little man off on school days and I told him about what JJ's teacher wrote. He said that the note was exactly right...and that JJ never even looks back at him and Sydney when they drop him off :), but just runs in and hugs Mrs. Minter because he is so happy!

Love this little boy so much!

Beach Trip

2011-10-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

We spent Fall Break this year at the beach, visiting Hilton Head Island along with Nana and Buddy. We were blessed with beautiful weather, good health, and lots of fun!

It was a great week with all three of the kids, and one of the major highlights was watching JJ have so much fun! Last year, he HATED the sand-wouldn't even touch it. (He sat in a baby pool for much of our beach trip 2010.)

This year was an entirely different story. He hesitated a bit at first when his feet hit the sand, but (as always) then he followed big sister no matter what!

It didn't take long at all before he was
playing in the ocean and covered with sand :)

Another little boy enjoyed his first beach
trip and was (typically) so easy going and sweet.

Sydney was also very excited to be back at the beach!

She and JJ stayed busy building sandcastles with Buddy,

playing in the ocean, watching for dolphins,

flying kites with Daddy, gathering shells,

and taking snack breaks and walks with Mommy.

Every morning, we rode bikes and Jeff pulled them
behind him in a trailer made for two :)

We rode with Sydney and JJ each morning on the bike paths around our resort area. Then, at night, Jeff and I would ride by ourselves-on the paths and the beach. In total, we biked over 60 miles during our stay and really enjoyed this! Hilton Head is a wonderful place to bike!

We all had a great week!

My precious family...
'
Love them so much and thankful for so many special times God has given us together!

First Field Trip

2011-10-14T09:40:00.001-05:00

Before Fall Break, Sydney's class went to Chaney's Dairy Barn on a field trip. Since I was working, our friend Emily took Sydney. Honestly, I was kind of sad as this is the first "big thing" I've missed. However, God has given me the best 2nd job (and schedule) I can imagine, so I choose gratitude! I am thankful for sweet Emily (who my kids love) and the special day that she and SG shared! Sydney is still talking about it.

Sydney's class got to play on the big playground, tour the farm, pet some of the cows, board the "Moo Wagon" for a hayride, and eat ice cream! Fun times!

Here are a couple other pics Emily passed along to me:

Weight Check

2011-10-10T20:58:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago all three of our babies were sick :(, so we had a couple different visits with their doctor.

While in the office, they weighed in at:

SG 37 lbs 1 oz
JJ 37 lbs 1 oz

She is a taller than average & slender 4 year old girl, and he is a very tall & solid :) 2 year old boy.

I knew he was going to catch her...it took him ~28 months!

(Whether they are hanging out in their chairs at the beach or enjoying a ring pop at home, these two are becoming closer every single day. At this point, it is hard for me to imagine one without the other really. They had so much fun together this past week at the beach-more to come...)
----
PS. At the doctor, baby brother weighed in at "only" 21 lb, 11 oz :)

Day with Thomas

2011-10-08T21:06:00.002-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend, we took the kids to see Thomas the Train in Nashville. We bought the tickets several months early. Sydney really likes trains & JJ is pretty much obsessed with them :) He has already told us that he wants to be "Blue Choo Choo" (Thomas) for Halloween and that he wants a choo choo party when he turns 3.

We were very excited to take them and we had a great time.

Unfortunately, JJ was battling a virus and we wish he felt better. Still, he had a great time and enjoyed the event which was highlighted by a 25 minute ride on Thomas himself!

As you can see below, he was not too excited to get his picture made on the podium in front of Thomas after our ride. (BTW, it was about 95 degrees at this point).

Sydney's recap of the day as we left..."this was incredible." JJ's recap..."choo choo fun." We agree with both of them and I'm pretty sure this is something we'll be doing again in the future!

JJ: School & Speech

2011-09-28T21:37:00.001-05:00

Our little boy loves school. The picture above was taken when we first told him he would be going to school, and he is still very enthusiastic about it!

One of the reasons we decided to send JJ to school this year @ 2 is to help with his speech development. We have been concerned....we have been praying....been worried....for a while....yet encouraged to remain patient as he develops. As most of you know, he had surgery to correct his tongue when he was 15 months old.

The first month of school for him has been so good...he is learning many new words-we have never known him to learn so many words in such a short span of time! Just last week, I got a note from his teacher-(an excerpt from her email)...:

"JJ had a great day!! In bible time I asked the kids, "What did GOd create on Day one?" and he said, "Light!"
What a SMART boy!!" ...

This was HUGE for him! He understood the question, knew the answer, and verbalized "light" before any of the other kids. We were very proud!

Also last week, we had him visit a speech therapist at the Medical Center for assessment. He cooperated very well and completed two tests for Ms. Lauren. The tests scored him in two different competencies: comprehension, and verbal expressiveness.

The tests gave us a lot of statistics, but boiled down to this: he tested above average on comprehension (tested at the level of a 2 yr 8 month old). He tested below average on verbal expression (tested at the level of a 1 yr 9 month old). He is 2 years and 5 months. Basically, according to this instrument his speech is about 8 months behind average in speech at this moment.

While the test confirmed that he needs some extra work here, it also dispelled other fears.

We will begin visiting his speech therapist on a regular basis. She was very encouraging that with early intervention like this, we can overcome and surpass his slower start in speech. It is also a big time praise that his comprehension is above average!..-We know he understands what we say-even if he fails to follow instruction from time to time :)

She does suspect that the tongue issue he had to "compensate" for the first 15 months is a factor. She also suspects that his older sister does too much talking "for him" ...imagine that :) She also was glad that he is in school 2 days each week.

Here's to prayers and continued development as we help our precious JJ work in this area!

The Straight Path

2011-09-27T21:18:00.005-05:00

Tonight, Sydney asked me: "Mommy, how does God makes our path straight?"

I am amazed that she is learning scripture at age 4 (!) and so thankful that she is curious about God.

Some of my happiest moments are watching/listening as she skips around the house singing about Jesus umprompted.

Here she is after our trip the other day to buy for children aided through Operation Christmas Child. She was SO excited to find gifts for these children...for an entire week, she asked me every day when we could do this. She knows very little about poverty but does realize that there are children who do not have homes, toys, clothes & Jesus.

We are so thankful that God has blessed her with such a compassionate heart.

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Soccer

2011-09-21T10:57:00.000-05:00

Sydney has now played in her first two soccer games. She is having a lot of fun, (and the coach and I are also).

Her uniform is the smallest size available but huge on her. She thinks it is so fun to wear shinguards and cleats!

I found two cute fans in the crowd at both of her games...

This fan stays in his chair for a few seconds at
a time, and only occasionally runs onto the field ;)

This fan is content to watch from
his prime spot...thank goodness!

She almost scored a goal in her first game and she did score on Saturday!!! She was so proud and excitedly told me 'I never thought I would do that' :)

Go Sydney!

On the Move

2011-09-17T22:42:00.005-05:00

This is the sweet face of an 8 month old boy on the move!

In just the last few days, he has moved from rolling within a very small area to rolling, scooting and 'army' crawling all over the place!

He spots something interesting within his view and works to get to it!

Got it !

So much for Mommy's plans of him waiting a while longer :)

1st Day of Preschool

2011-09-13T22:06:00.002-05:00

JJ's first day of preschool was Tuesday August 30! He had been so excited to go! When I left him, he simply looked back at me and said "bye bye mama." It is always a good feeling to leave my babies when they are so happy.

Two of his favorite parts about school so far are using his "backpack" and "choo choo" (Thomas) pillow I bought him for naptime.

All the reports we have received from his teacher (...eating, sleeping, interaction, flexibility...) to this point have been very positive!

The other night, he was singing part of the B-I-B-L-E song for us which is BIG progress!

1st Soccer Practice

2011-09-09T21:58:00.003-05:00

Last Monday, Sydney had her first soccer practice. She told us after practice that she really had fun! We are very proud of her.

I'm proud of her coach too...he was well organized and the girls responded well to his plans/drills...at least most of them ;)

Her team plays their first game tomorrow morning, although it's doubtful she will get to play because she has been sick almost all week. Her fever was down tonight and she had more energy-we'll see what the morning holds.

8 Months

2011-09-07T13:48:00.008-05:00

My sweet Luke is 8 months old today!
Luke-you bring us so much joy!

At 8 months, you are becoming more stable sitting up and are rolling & scooting to get where you want to be. You have 6 teeth, with another getting ready to come through any day. You love jumping in the Jumperoo, eating yogurt and "talking" to us. So far, we've heard dada, mama, and something that sounds like bye bye.

Over the weekend, you ate your first puffs. Your fan club was much more excited about this event than you were.

They adore you and think you are so awesome. They are right! Love you!

Look Who's...

2011-09-03T20:34:00.001-05:00

sleeping in a big boy "Toy Story" toddler bed?!?!

JJ has been sleeping in his converted bed for over a week now. The first night he was a little confused and it took some extra time for Mommy to spend with him before "lights out." He has yet to climb out and his napping/sleep schedule is still consistent. Boy, we have been blessed with three good sleepers :)

Our old (and new) "normal"

2011-08-31T14:12:00.008-05:00

In the past week, our family has rejoined "normal" life....back to a real alarm clock, back to packing lunches & backpacks, back to work and spending a couple days a week with "kids" over the age of 4, back to serving in the ministry capacity we so enjoy at church, back to swim lessons and other church activities and opportunities that take a "break" during summer.

We have also added a few things to "normal" life...Sydney playing soccer with coach Jeff, JJ sleeping in his big boy toddler bed & starting school, Luke drinking from a sippy cup & spending two days a week at Sarah's, Jeff playing in a basketball league with 3 buddies, Mommy starting a new bible study at 6am on Mondays with "Starbucks Sisters," & teaching at GHS 2 mornings a week.

As I transition & Jeff and I begin balancing a few more tasks, I am reminded of how much HE has blessed us in this season of life.

Here are my two big babies as we picnic'ed (a word?) in the yard one night last week. They are so much fun. And their baby brother?! Well, I'm pretty sure he is the best baby ever...anywhere... really!

Pure Excitement

2011-08-28T20:49:00.008-05:00

Knowing he would be so excited, we had the video rolling when we first asked JJ if he wanted to go to school a few days ago! (We are not sure why the video uploaded from Jeff's phone sideways, but, nevertheless...)

He has been begging to go to school every day he has been with me as I drop off Sydney.

More to come...his first day is Tuesday. :)

Yes, he's big too

2011-08-21T20:48:00.002-05:00

Big enough to ...

gather blueberries and peaches on a recent
fruit picking trip to Lebanon!

This was a fun day for the five of us.
He and Sydney made a good team!
This summer, they have picked strawberries, blueberries and
peaches...and our freezer is full of fruit!

She's Big Enough to...

2011-08-17T14:22:00.006-05:00

(Continuing with my theme from earlier in the week...)

Sydney is "Big Enough" to be in preschool for her 2nd year.

Her first day of school was yesterday! Can you tell she was happy?!

She has been so excited to go back to school and had me laughing out loud as we left the house yesterday morning...she was running out to the van saying "School, HERE I COME!" :)

Highlights from her first day included playing outside, eating lunch with her friends (very excited about this part), chapel and craft time. She also told me she liked asking her teacher lots of questions...imagine that!

We are thankful to be at a school we already love & in a class with special friends like Audrey Wallace, Asher Pettus and Ava Drake- with many new friends to make! Her buddy Layton Richey is just across the hall too!

And Mommy is also thankful that she's not "big enough" to be gone all day every day...just yet! :)

Big Enough to...

2011-08-14T20:49:00.007-05:00

swing like a big boy (professional chalk design provided by big brother and sister)

& "help" Daddy pick peaches.

Time is flying by and all three of our babies are growing & changing so fast. They all "moved up" at church this week. Reflecting on just one day, today... JJ successfully blew bubbles on his own outside. Sydney is wearing her soccer uniform around the house. Luke is getting his fifth tooth! Big Stuff!

Each day brings new excitement. We love every minute of it...well, except we wish the minutes would stop flying by. Jeff sent me this blog posting today, which echoes our sentiments.

Washington D.C.

2011-08-03T06:52:00.000-05:00

Jeff attended a national conference for church administrators in Washington D.C. the first week of July. Sydney, Luke and I tagged along while JJ had some extra special time with his grandparents in Georgetown.

We had such a good trip! We arrived a day before his meeting started and had a chance to do a 3 mile walking tour of the DC area with a highly recommended tour guide. We learned so much...Jeff and I had neither one visited DC since we were elementary school age, so this time around was quite different & much more meaningful. Sydney and Luke were troopers on this tour that lasted 3.5 hours in the > 90 degree weather.

The walking tour took us by the monuments, the White House, the war memorials and much more. This was all very exciting. The war memorials were gripping-we should all be so thankful for those who sacrificed so much.

Here, Sydney and I are on the site of the WWII Memorial.

It is a breathtaking tribute and very moving.

Daddy, Sydney and Luke stopped to get their picture taken in front of Lincoln's statue at the Lincoln Memorial.

We stood in the very spot where Martin Luther King Jr gave his "I Have a Dream Speech." We were in awe.

The same day, we also visited the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian.

After our "tour day," we had four more days to enjoy our time at the National Harbor area and the Gaylord National, our hotel. Jeff had a great experience at the conference.

Some of Sydney's (and our) other highlights included watching the "dancing" fountains, taking a boat ride to old town Alexandria, enjoying the special pool area at the hotel, playing in the sand at the harbor's restaurant and shopping area and having the opportunity to watch some amazing fireworks 3 nights in a row (July 2, 3, 4)!

We are so thankful to have taken this trip together and look forward to returning to Washington with all 3 of our kids when they are a bit older. It is a place we definitely want to make sure that they each experience.

Responsibility

2011-07-29T22:32:00.007-05:00

The quietest daytime hours in our house come in the late afternoon-when JJ and Luke are taking their naps.

This is the time I spend catching up on chores, exercising, and enjoying special time playing with Sydney. This afternoon, I was hanging up clothes, and Sydney was in the room beside me playing with her princess dolls. She walked in the room, gave me a hug, and totally out of the blue said "Mommy, thank you for being a nice Mommy...and a good Mommy and you teach us about God."

God has given us a daughter with such a sweet and thankful disposition. And today, he used her to sweetly remind me about the biggest responsibility I have as her (their) Mom. There are so many times I could do a better job!!!

Here is our creation from this later this afternoon:

If you need help id'ing it, this is Noah's Ark :) Crafts are not exactly my specialty, but she doesn't know that...yet.

Time With Friends

2011-07-26T21:01:00.000-05:00

We spent this past weekend in Louisville with the Linn's. We had so much fun-swimming, eating downtown at a favorite spot, going to a Bats game/fireworks, checking out the zoo, and swimming again. Our kids really love spending time with each other-these friends are so dear to us.

Sydney loved the "splash park" at the zoo so much...sprinklers, waterslides, huge water buckets dumping on your head :) As much as she liked it, JJ disliked it. (Is this picture cruel?)

Deja Vu

2011-07-23T21:24:00.000-05:00

Look who's asleep in the Jumperoo

July 2011 (6 months)

January 2010 (8 months)

4th of July

2011-07-19T09:22:00.001-05:00

Jeff, Sydney, Luke and I had the awesome opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. over the 4th of July weekend for five days. It was amazing.

I love the 4th of July. I love my country, hot weather and fireworks. It has long been a wish of mine to be in D.C. on the 4th and this year it just worked out that Living Hope sent Jeff to a conference July 1-5.

The trip was very special and we had a wonderful time....more photos to share-just need to make time to get them organized.

Luke's "New" Toy, New Measurements

2011-07-15T21:08:00.005-05:00

Last weekend, Daddy got out the Jumperoo for Luke to start enjoying. He seems to really like it!

As usual, his "fan club" is also in on the action.

Today, Luke visited his doctor for his 6 month checkup. He is a very big baby @ 6 months...19 lb, 15 oz and 28 1/4 inches. This puts him in the 97th percentile for height and 85th for weight. His head is measuring larger and now around the 90th percentile. For comparison, he is 2 ounces "lighter" than big brother JJ at 6 months, but almost 2 inches longer! (No wonder his 12 month clothes are hard to button!) We are thankful for a good overall health report.

Too Much Fun

2011-07-13T21:57:00.005-05:00

Luke enjoys spending time in his float at the pool with us.

Tonight, he had a little too much fun and took a break :)

What a precious gift he is.

Picture of the Day

2011-07-11T21:16:00.000-05:00

1/2 YEAR!

2011-07-07T15:14:00.003-05:00

Sweet Luke is 6 months old! What a special little boy he is! I did not know that it was possible to have a baby as content and good as Luke. Some good friends from church told us just the other night that they would have another baby if he/she could be like Luke. He smiles so much and his laughs would make anyone happy. He laughs out loud at Sydney all the time.

He rarely cries, loves to snuggle and nap while being held, especially on Daddy at night. His hair is growing back and much lighter than at birth.

He is the last one awake at our house almost every single day. More often than not, I end up waking him up around 9am because I just can't wait any longer :).

What a wonderful traveler he is...last week he was in DC for 6 days with Mommy, Daddy & Sydney and was just amazing.

Having such a healthly & happy baby boy is a tremendous blessing. We can't believe he's already been with us for 6 months, but can't imagine our family without him! Sydney tells us often that she "loves having a big family." We agree...we love you LUKEY!

Baby Brother

2011-07-02T06:44:00.001-05:00

The brothers are becoming bigger buddies all the time. (Translation: Lately, JJ won't leave Luke alone.)

A very familiar sight at our home...they really love him.

Little Things

2011-06-27T06:39:00.000-05:00

When my friend Stacy was here visiting a couple weeks ago, she called my attention to a sweet similarity between two of my "babies." I think of it often now.

Having a sweet baby boy who so often smiles like this...

...reminds me of a sweet baby girl who smiled so often liked this...

Smiling with your mouth so wide open must mean a simple smile won't allow you to get all of your happiness out :)

How big the little things are! Thanks Stacy for reminding me.

First Teeth!

2011-06-24T07:57:00.000-05:00

Over Father's Day weekend, Daddy discovered that Lukey's first tooth was breaking through.

So before I got a chance to post this..., yesterday I feel a second tooth! I keep thinking...he's only 5 months-how can he be old enough to be getting two teeth?

I looked back at the blog to see that JJ's first tooth came at 6 1/2 months and SG's came at 8 months.

Circus

2011-06-21T22:21:00.001-05:00

A few times a year, our children's ministry puts on an event for preschoolers (3/4 years old) only, "Mom and Me," or "Dad and Me." One Friday night in May was a Mom and Me event, and Sydney and I were invited to the circus. It was AMAZING! The circus was held at the Connection Center.

First we had dinner. Then, Sydney was given a bag full of tickets to use on fun things like playing games, decorating cupcakes, bouncing in the inflatable, and much more. There were even clowns, a booth setup for face painting, a balloon animal artist, and prizes!

It was quite a special time for me and my girl. I look forward to the next Mom and Me!

Daddy of 3

2011-06-19T15:02:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day Jeff!

All three of our babies are so lucky to call you Daddy.

Thank you for the big things-making Jesus such a priority in their lives and loving them unconditionally. Thank you for the million little things too. We love you!

The five of us wish Papaw and Buddy a Happy Father's Day also!

Volleyball

2011-06-17T21:55:00.003-05:00

Jeff and I have been playing in our church volleyball league for the past couple of months. The league had a total of seven teams and we played two matches every Thursday night.

I had a great time revisiting my volleyball playing days of middle school 20(!) years ago :) Jeff became our expert at defending the net! We really had fun playing on the team together & with some friends (new and old-most pictured above).

We placed fourth last night at the end of "season" tournament but look forward to playing again when the next season comes this fall.

11

2011-06-15T06:59:00.000-05:00

11 years ago today, I married my best friend and partner in life.

So thankful God chose him for me...I love you Jeff and hope we have 50, 60, 70 ! more June 15th's.

Stakz

2011-06-13T09:11:00.001-05:00

On Sydney's birthday, we ventured to Stakz for the first time. Stakz has 12 varietys of frozen yogurt and every (healthly and not-so healthy) topping imaginable.

This is how the process works...after you sample as many flavors as you want :), you grab your cup, fill it with your favorite flavor and sprinkle with your desired toppings. The cost is by the ounce.

Here, JJ enjoys sampling!

The birthday girl creating her Stakz-her choice was strawberry yogurt with nerds, and a cherry on top!

She has asked several times lately to return to "Stakz, the place where we make our own ice cream"

Princess Party

2011-06-10T21:12:00.001-05:00

Sydney was so excited to have a princess party this year in celebration of her 4th birthday.

She and her princess friends Avery and Lilly were beautiful, whether in gowns or play clothes!

And, here is the birthday girl about ready to blow out the candle on her requested princess "cupcake cake."

Princess Sydney---I am so glad that you had such a fun and memorable party for your 4th birthday! You planned it all...the menu, costumes, decorations, and more. Love you!

First Road Trip

2011-06-08T21:49:00.007-05:00

This past weekend, Lukey took his first road trip! He had an action packed long weekend, visiting grandparents, his cousins, aunt & uncle, and some friends. He visited the pool, the church where his uncle is pastor, ventured out on the golf course and more!

He was a wonderful traveler and slept at night in his pack n play just as well as he does at home in his bed. Luke (and the rest of us) had a great time visiting everyone!

The rest of us got to see our nephew/cousin Trace win his baseball game on Saturday. Sydney and JJ have also been spending time learning how to play golf...kind of :)... with Daddy and Buddy.

Below is a picture of Luke (now 5 months old!) with his brother and sister, and 3 cousins at Sydney's birthday party a couple weeks ago:

First Year of (Pre)School

2011-06-06T08:23:00.004-05:00

Sydney's school has been such a blessing for all of us this past year as she has learned a lot about letters, making friends, and most importantly, about Jesus.

Her last day was also her birthday and they worked in a special celebration for her, highlighted by two "Happy Birthday" songs & strawberry cupcakes !

With her teacher Mrs. Bryant...a lady who truly loves the Lord, and the kids. She is very gifted in working with three year olds. Sydney is so excited to be returning to Holy Trinity for VBS next week where Mrs Bryant will be her teacher!

Daddy with all three kids during storytime at school last week

Sydney with one of her good friends, Layton.

Mommy has been quite blessed to gain some special new friends this year too, aka Layton's Mommy, Charlie's Mommy and Audrey's Mommy :) Sharing this preschool adventure with three women who love their children and Jesus so passionately has been awesome!!! I look forward to many more adventures with Brittany, Kara & Amy as we watch our babies grow up!

August will be here before you know it and Sydney will be heading to a new school at Broadway United Methodist! Here's to many more happy and fruitful school years in the years to come for Sydney, JJ and Luke.

4th Year of Growth

2011-06-03T16:13:00.000-05:00

Taken on her last day of gymnastics until fall

Sydney had a checkup with her doctor the day after her 4th birthday. Her measurements were:
Height: 40.5 inches (between 50-75th percentile)
Weight: 37 pounds (75th percentile)

She had an eye test for the first time and got every single symbol correct (even the really small ones!) A memorable moment is when she kept telling the nurse that the + (meant to be plus sign) was "a cross." She also got to wear the special "headphones" and have her ears tested. Unfortunately, she was due for three shots and that event was a bit traumatic, hard to watch. Overall, we are just so thankful for such a great health report.

Sydney had only been sick/to the doctor one time since her 3 year checkup (this was the day after Luke was born.)

Plenty of Strawberries

2011-06-01T15:03:00.003-05:00

For the second year in a row, we made the trip to Portland in May to pick some strawberries in peak season! This year, Nana and Buddy were visiting for Mothers Day/Lukes dedication and we were excited to take them along.

JJ was more than ready this year to help his big sister fill our baskets!

He was surprisingly(!) focused and quickly learned how to pick out the good berries for his own basket.

His first couple of berries...SO sweet!

Last winter, SG & JJ wanted fresh strawberries even when they weren't in season...and often as much as $4...ouch... a pound. It's hard for me to turn down buying fruit for my kids, but it's also for me hard to swallow that kind of price for mediocre tasting berries.

This year, we decided to make the most of our trip and came home with over 40 lbs :) of fresh berries! They are beautiful and taste just as good too! We cleaned enough to make a pie for Nana's birthday and to eat that week...and the rest are divided and resting on their own shelf in my freezer! We plan to do the same thing with blueberries in July. These are absolutely their two favorite fruits.

Sydney did a great job helping Buddy find the "biggest" strawberries!

She could hardly hold the basket after filling it up. Each held between 5-6 lbs

I love this new tradition and look forward to many more years of picking berries with my precious family!

Luke's Dedication

2011-05-30T20:38:00.000-05:00

On Mother's Day, we participated in Family/Baby Dedication with Luke at church. We were so happy to share this day and celebrate with all four of Luke's grandparents.

We have no greater responsibility than teaching our babies about Jesus. Words cannot express how thankful we are for the church family God has given us as we raise Luke to know and follow Jesus. We will continue praying for his salvation, that he will someday accept the truths of the gospel and ask Jesus into his heart.

Happy Birthday Sydney!

2011-05-26T07:01:00.000-05:00

Sydney,
You've been counting down the days to your birthday for the last few weeks and now your big day is here! At 4, you are sweet, smart & beautiful-inside and out!

One of the most amazing things about you is how compassionate you are, much more so than many adults. Your thoughts are almost always very unselfish, and you take the prayers you say for others very seriously. You love Jesus, and it's hard for me to believe how much you already know about him. We talk about him several times during each day, and many times you initiate.

Your brothers are so important to you, and they both believe you hung the moon. JJ is your sidekick & playmate (aka your shadow/copycat!). At bedtime, you always get his last kiss & hug. Luke has become so special to you. You give him such extraordinary attention, at times laying on the floor and talking with him for long periods of time, singing silly songs, or making him laugh out loud over and over. Yes, you love them both very much-today, I am bringing them both to your school when we celebrate your birthday because you insisted that they had to be there with you :) You don't understand that it would be easier for Mommy to leave them with Sarah, and I think it's so sweet that you want all four of us with you and your friends for your special celebration.

You and I are very close. We have so much fun together baking, playing games or ball, working on letters, etc, even fun ideas you create for us like pretending to run a restuarant. You sometimes have a hard time seperating from me when I work or go to bible study, or when you go to school or church (yet you always end up having a good time). Even so, you are certainly also your Daddy's little girl. You try to talk him out of going to work every Monday and love to ride along with him while he mows the yard and sit in his lap and read or watch one of your favorite shows.

School, church, gymnastics, and Culver's are all places you love to go. You love spending time with your grandparents and get so excited to see your special friends like Reese, Tatum, Charlie & Layton. You love princesses & happy endings, the color pink, my iPAD, and the park.

We love you so much and thank God every day for you---you are truly a gift. Happy 4th birthday!

Checking in with Luke

2011-05-24T05:50:00.000-05:00

Luke had his 4 month checkup on May 13, where he weighed in at 16 lb, 9oz, & measured 26.5 inches. His height is over the 90th percentile, weight at the 90th percentile and head in 75th. He also had 3 shots but handled them like a champ!

Over the past couple months, he has lost most of his hair, although some of it is already starting to come back. He is looking kind of funny these days with little hair on some areas of his head, lots at other spots, still falling out some, growing back too :) It's okay, he's still just as cute!

(Back to the doctor visit)...The rest of his health report was good, and we talked about starting him with some baby food.

Luke's doctor knows that neither of our other kids went for the rice cereal thing, so at his suggestion, we skipped that step and went straight to veggies.

Here, Luke is trying his first veggie, squash.

Not sure he's a big fan yet :)

This video highlights Luke "enjoying" some squash, with a bonus appearance by big brother JJ.

My Boys

2011-05-22T15:28:00.002-05:00

Zoo

2011-05-20T10:02:00.001-05:00

We took the kids to the zoo last Saturday...they loved it! We got a great deal on a zoo membership, so we'll be making some return trips over the next few months. Sydney is already asking when we can go back.

This was our family's first trip to the Nashville zoo...we enjoyed the animals and the playground was MASSIVE. It's one of those things you just have to see yourself to understand. Jeff and I took turns watching Luke and venturing off with the big two as they played out of sight.

Sydney's favorite animal was the giraffe, especially the baby one. Everytime we finished seeing an animal, JJ said "BYE!", "More, more"...(as in bring on the next animal!) Luke enjoyed being along for the ride too :)

On the way home, Sydney told us she had two favorite things: looking at the animals and playing on the playground. (These are the only things we did)

Prayers Answered

2011-05-19T12:53:00.010-05:00

Pictured here is Sydney, JJ, and Luke's great grandfather (Jeff's grandpa ), Christmas 2009. I love this photo as it captures 4 generations of McClanahan "boys" & they are all so happy.

Ralph is now a few months shy of 93 and had a pretty bad fall a couple weeks ago. Internal bleeding in his brain brought about some serious surgery on Tuesday at a hospital close to his home in Northern Kentucky. Today, less than 48 hours after his surgery, they have unhooked the tube responsible for removing additional blood, AND he is walking with a walker. They are even talking about when he can go home(!), after his blood pressure settles down.

He is a wonderful Christian man, who has lived a good, long life. Many prayers have been answered as he seems to be healing so well after the care of his physicians and the ONE above all others.

We are so glad we got to visit him last week in the hospital and look forward to visiting him at his home real soon.

Beautiful Flowers

2011-05-17T13:30:00.007-05:00

Please don't tell my girl that these are weeds-I'm pretty sure you would break her sweet heart.

When I picked her up from school today, she couldn't wait to surprise me with a present. She "knew I would love this present."

When I asked her the best part about school today, as I always do, she said that picking pretty white flowers for me was her favorite part of her day- this was how she spent her time on the playground.

As soon as we were in the door, she pulled them out of her backpack and wanted me to put them in water and display them on the counter. She knew I was sad yesterday to throw our the last of the beautiful flowers her Daddy got me over Mother's Day weekend.

Jeff, thanks for the beautiful flowers. Sydney, thank you for the beautiful flowers too. I love you both so much.

"Learn to Swim"

2011-05-15T14:55:00.000-05:00

Sydney has been participating in WKU's (swim teams) "Learn to Swim Program" on Saturday mornings. At her lessons, she gets one on one instruction with a member of the women's swim team. She was the youngest since the lessons are technically for those age 4 and up, but they made an exception for her.

Her last lesson was this past Saturday. She has made a lot of progress this spring! At her first lesson, "the water was too cold," she "didn't want people splashing her," etc. She basically held onto her teacher as they moved around the pool for 30 minutes.

After "getting her feet wet" at the first lesson, she really made some big improvements! She is kicking very well, and starting to understand more about the importance of using her arms. AND, she had fun :) We look forward to participating in this program again in the future.

Dream Come True

2011-05-11T04:24:00.001-05:00

Over the past few months, friends/family have often asked me how it's going...and what it's like to have a 3 year old, 1 year old (just turned 2!), and an infant (now 4 months!).

So for my three angels, here's my answer:

Being your mother brings me unimaginable joy and is unlike anything I ever imagined I would experience on this earth. I told your Daddy a while back that I was living my dream. The funny part about that is, I never even knew this was my dream until I found myself in the middle of it!

I can't believe God has allowed me to be a Mom to the three of you. What a tremendous blessing and responsibility he has given to me! You all make every day a beautiful one and I am so proud of my sweet princess, my adorable wild card & my amazing baby boy.

Celebrating Mother's Day with all of you on Sunday was just another part of my dream. You are my sunshine.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T16:40:00.014-05:00

Mommy,

Thank for all that you do for our family! You are an awesome mother! We love you very much

Daddy, Sydney, JJ, and Luke

Reflecting & Anticipating

2011-05-04T15:01:00.006-05:00

Luke,

Reflecting...I found out we were expecting you on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend one year ago-I will never forget what a special Mother's Day that made 2010 for me! Anticipating...this Saturday, you will turn 4 months old and, Sunday, celebrate your first Mother's Day here with me!

You are happy, you laugh out loud! You are content. You are healthy. You are growing so fast. You are a great sleeper. You are easy to take care of. You are a joy & blessing. You make life so much better! You are AMAZING!

We all love you!

JJ's Party

2011-05-02T20:56:00.011-05:00

The weather was not so nice on the day of JJ's party...but thankfully we were able to host it at church.

The kids loved playing in the CC and especially in the inflatable!

My sweet boy ate, sat still to open presents (!), laughed and played and played...he did enjoy his party so much! He was lucky to have all of his grandparents and cousins for the party, and also some special friends-the Borders, Dahmers and Hastes.

The only thing about the party that he didn't enjoy was when we sang Happy Birthday to him :)

We will always remember this celebration very fondly.

"Wild Card" at 2

2011-04-30T16:09:00.008-05:00

Straight from wikipedia..."The term wild card was originally used in card games, but the term has evolved to describe an unpredictable factor in any number of domains."

At this age & stage, I have coined JJ my "wild card." He is absolutely a perfect angel most of the time, yet a bit of a challenge at other moments :) Throw the wild card into the mix with an active but "fairly" predictable 3 year old and an amazing baby and things around here are either smooth sailing OR chaotic at best!

Sweet JJ had his two year checkup last Friday. He is 38 inches tall (95th percentile), 33 lb (95th percentile) with large head (98th percentile)...big all around! To my surprise, he stepped right on the scale and was very cooperative for the weigh in and measuring. He cried when his doctor first came in the room, but calmed down for his exam.

His overall health report was great and he wasn't even due for a shot, so that was wonderful news too.

I also took the opportunity to talk with his doctor about JJ's speech progression, and after assessing, he was very reassuring with me that everything is moving along just as it should. His vocabulary (# of words known and pronounced clearly) is very strong! Having his tongue restricted for his first 15 months and then operated on, though, has thrown a curveball into the equation, so some sounds may be harder for him to master. (For example, the "ck" seems to be hard for him. He LOVES Mickey, yet cannot yet clearly say "Mickey" while his "Minnie" is as clear as possible.) This should not be a long term issue though.

He also gave me progression "markers" to look for in the months to come and (nicely) told me to stop comparing to my very verbal little girl at 2 yrs, etc....so thankful God has given us a healthy and happy wild card and a pediatrician who is a believer and sweet friend to my family!

Here wild card is enjoying his cupcake and newly opened sunglasses at his party. Is he not the funniest thing?! More pictures coming soon from JJ at his big birthday bash!

Finding Eggs

2011-04-28T17:39:00.001-05:00

Sydney's school had an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. She and JJ both found lots of eggs stuffed with goodies! This was JJ's first egg hunt since he could not walk last year at Easter.

His first find goes in the basket!

Then, he decided managing the basket and picking up the eggs took too much effort :) Daddy then held the basket while JJ gathered as many as possible in his little hands.

Sydney was happy to show off her basket full!

Easter

2011-04-25T10:25:00.006-05:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter celebrating our living Savior!

Challenge...that is the word I would use to describe trying to capture a photo of my 3 "3 and unders" in which they are each happy, standing still, looking at camera & eyes open :)

Happy first Easter sweet Luke!

Easter Eggs!

2011-04-20T19:06:00.006-05:00

Monday, we colored Easter eggs. The "messy" part was done while JJ took his nap :) Sydney did a great job!

After they finished drying, JJ helped decorate the eggs with stickers. He did not care that they were princess stickers, he was just happy to be involved!

Very proud of the job they did!

2!

2011-04-17T09:49:00.004-05:00

Psalm 127:3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.

My JJ,
Today we celebrate with you the milestone of 2 years! How lucky and thankful we are that God has allowed us to be your parents!!! We so enjoy your smiles, sweet disposition and silliness every day.

As you turn 2 years old, here are the three words I feel describe your personality best ...1-Sweet, 2-Happy, 3-Busy.

This morning, I asked Daddy on the spot to tell me one thing he loved about you and he said that you were so happy all the time. I asked Sydney the same question and she said " I love when he's Mickey and I'm Minnie and we can play at our clubhouse.". :).

You love to play with your sister and you truly are best friends. Whose boy are you? Both Mommy's and Daddy's, just depends on the moment. You must sleep with Mickey Mouse tucked under your arms. Pasta, ice cream, blueberries, grapes and fruit snacks are a few of your favorite foods. You "hibernate" for 3 hours every afternoon. Luke loves to watch you, and sometimes you stop long enough to pay attention to him also :) You give big hugs and kisses and you love all four of your grandparents very much.

One of my favorite things to do with you is dance...no one would enjoy watching us except the other three we live with, but when music comes on the tv, you instantly reach for me to pick you up and dance. It's moments like these that my heart treasures so much. You love balls...any kind of ball...and anything that is in the shape of a ball (fruit, sun, etc) is a "ball!" You also love playing hide and seek with Sydney and me, and we play almost every night. Three other things you love to listen to/watch are trains ("choo choo"), planes & cows.

Yesterday we celebrated 2 very special years at your birthday party with family and special friends. You had such a FUN day!

You have truly captured our hearts and we love you more than we could describe! Happy 2nd birthday sweet boy!

A Thankful Heart

2011-04-11T15:52:00.008-05:00

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Lately, we have been talking with Sydney quite a bit about what it means to have a thankful heart. There are times when (as many three year olds would) she says, "I wish I/we had..." (the thing she wishes for could be anything from a pool in the backyard to a princess doll or something even smaller than that). When she makes one of these "wish" statements, we always make sure to discuss what it means to be thankful for all the things God has given us in Jesus, each other, and our other blessings.

This morning, she was looking up at her Snow White princess costume hanging in the closet (def. one of her favorite things) and said "Mommy, I wish I had an Ariel (pauses)....No-Mommy, I'm so thankful I have a Snow White costume." My heart smiled!!!

I think we could all use a lesson in thankfulness from time to time. Sydney's sweet spirit is one thing I am so thankful for.

Here are a couple pictures of our sweet girl singing in church last month. We were thankful that she actually did sing and she was proud of herself too! Her last appearance on stage back before Christmas was more about smiling and standing than singing :)!

3 Month Old

2011-04-07T07:21:00.002-05:00

Today, sweet Luke turns 3 months old! He is growing so fast, now in 3-6 month or 6 month clothing and his hair is thinning out more every day.

Luke continues to be an excellent sleeper and almost every morning is the last one awake at our house, sleeping from about 10pm til 815ish just like clockwork. He loves to smile at us and "talks" more than I remember either Sydney or JJ did at this age. He is enjoying time in his play gym, and especially since Sydney hangs out with him there quite often. He likes baths and, of course, still loves being held!

It is hard to compare things like this our children since we love them each so much, but I feel really confident in saying that to this point he has been the easiest baby to care for. Our only issue with him at all is that he is spoiled and loves to be held. But, we have no one to blame except ourselves and we love holding him :). He has a very content and sweet disposition. In three months, I have never known a time when his crying couldn't be stopped within a few seconds (aka picking him up or rocking him).

His nicknames are Lukey (several people) or Mr. Lukey (Jeff & Sydney). We love our precious baby boy so much!

My "Big" 2

2011-04-05T15:14:00.001-05:00

This is one of their favorite things. I'm so glad they are so close in age...they really love each other.

Buzz Cut

2011-04-03T15:07:00.003-05:00

Got a little carried away with the clippers today :)

My sweet boy acts like we are subjecting him to torture when we take him to the barber shop, so we decided to try today at home. Strapped in his booster seat on the back patio, with a sucker in his mouth...he survived.

He wasn't happy about this with any stretch of the imagination, but he did WAY better than usual.

Big Week

2011-03-27T18:59:00.002-05:00

We have had a BIG week!

I'm back at work.

It was also Sydney's turn to be line leader and for show and tell at school, and yes (!) , this is a really big deal :)

Jeff's parents visited all five of us early in the week and played with the kids while I was teaching.

Sydney visited my parents late in the week and got to see the Disney Princess Ice Show in Lexington.

Luke's good friend Emma Kate (and her parents Sarah & Ben) came over to hang out for a while.

Granny and her sister visited Saturday on their way through Bowling Green.

Thankful for our sweet kids, supportive family, special friends and a "2nd job" I enjoy when I have to be away from the place I love being most-home.

Tummy Time

2011-03-25T19:45:00.001-05:00

This is currently Luke's idea of "tummy time."

Welcome Spring!

2011-03-20T19:14:00.007-05:00

We have all 4 been so excited that spring...and spring weather...is here! We have spent many hours walking & playing outside since Wednesday, with a couple more days forecasted to come before it gets cool again. Sydney and JJ have been loving playing on their swingset and with other toys outside once again!

And this little boy has been content napping on and off in the shade!