Two firsts...

...in one week! Actually, 2 in 2 days.

Until a couple of weeks ago, Anna was still sleeping in a crib. When she was about 18 months old, she started climbing out. We had plans to convert it to a toddler bed that next weekend, but before we could do it, she fell out. She was not hurt, but it scared her enough that she wouldn't climb out anymore. She could easily get into bed, and refused to climb out. Score one for us! Fast forward more than a year-and-a-half, she was constantly climbing in and out. It was time. We were going to wait until spring break, but by the second "Ice Day" in a row, we needed another project. :-) To say they were both excited would be a huge understatement!

Two days after the bed conversion, she had an appointment for her very first haircut. She has been begging for "a big girl haircut" for several months. Begging. I have also been saying I want to cut it for several months.

Before:

Sweet girl felt so BIG. She looked it too.

Those legs. She's a natural!

After:

My sweet baby is growing up! There is nothing "baby" left about her. Part of me is sad, but I love the little person she is becoming. I love watching her grow and learn. I know there will be "firsts" forever, and what a privilege it is that I get to be her Mom, and that I get to experience them with her!!

My Valentine's

We had such a good Valentine's day! My gift from Brandon? A pair of shoes, and he took over and let me sleep late...and I slept until almost 9am! It.Was.Glorious! After I finally rolled out of bed, :) we spent the whole day together.

First, our boys gave us flowers...

Then we headed out to lunch at the Downtown Cafe...

After lunch, we decided to take them to the park...

And when the "big swings" are occupied, you use the baby swings...

...that you barely still fit in!

Then we thought a little Yogurt Story sounded good...

And we ended our day at home getting a few "prizes..."

We had a great day, just being together. I just wish Brandon and I would have remembered to take a picture of the two of us. Ooops...maybe next year. :)

T-Ball Tryouts

This year, he is finally old enough to play REAL t-ball. He's been talking about it since sign-ups a couple of weeks ago. We headed out early on a Saturday morning to be among the first to try out.

My boys.

Getting his instructions.

Hit (3x's)...

Run the bases, but stop at 3rd, and head to short stop to field...

Catch (3x's)...

Throw to 1st.

He did so good!! We can't wait for the season to start!

Firefighter

Last fall, firemen and a truck were at Davis and Anna's school to talk to all of the preschoolers. Anna had a blast. Davis? He missed it because he had surgery a few days before. We never told him he missed it. A couple of weeks ago, there was another set of firemen and a truck there to talk to the school-age kids. Davis was devastated when he found out he wasn't going to get to talk to the firemen or see the truck up close. For more than a year he has been talking about being a firefighter someday. He even got this raincoat for Christmas...

So, I couldn't take the devastation. I called our favorite fireman...my cousin Justin. And, he happened to be working that night! It had been a busy day for them, but he was so sweet, and let us come visit! Due to the nature of the job, we didn't tell Davis what we were doing...just in case.

When we pulled up to the station, he was BESIDE himself! He would have been perfectly happy looking through the glass, but when that truck pulled up, "full of firefighters," he could hardly contain himself!

There were 3 trucks in that station. He sat in all of them. He touched everything. He asked 6,000 questions. And sweet Justin answered every one of them.

Anna was there too, but she was really just along for the ride. She thought it was cool, and she was excited because Davis was excited, but...if she was being honest, she would have preferred to be at Target.

Our favorite fireman! Thank you, Justin, for letting us come visit!! He is STILL talking about it. You absolutely made his day!! Thank you for all that you do every day, and while I certainly pray that you never see our address pop up, I know we'd be in good hands!!

Photo A Day...January 2015

Towards the end of 2014 I said I didn't think I would do the "photo a day" again this year. However, when it came time, I had to do it again. I love having a way to look back. 2014 was a hard year. Davis spent way too much time in the hospital. We almost lost him more than a few times, but every day I was forced to look for the good. Some days, there wasn't much good, but I have those pictures to remind me of God's faithfulness and grace. I have pictures of other things going on during that time. I have pictures of both of my children smiling when they should have been crying. Pictures of me and my sweet husband smiling when we should have been crying. (Don't get me wrong. There were lots of tears! But again, our God is faithful!) So, we weren't at all sad to see 2014 come to an end! We are hopeful that 2015 is a significantly better year!! We have big plans and my "photo a day" will be there to remind me of the day-to-day this year too!

Day 1: A New Year's puppet performance.

Day 2: A long overdue lunch with this sweet friend.

Day 3: A Cinderella Party for our tiny birthday princess!

Day 4: Davis named this dinosaur Oscar. He is one of Davis' favorite Christmas presents. Sometimes, he is terrified of the thing! :-)

Day 5: The break was great, but back to work I go!

Day 6: They went back to school today! But not before Anna busted her lip open on the kitchen floor this morning.

Day 7: "...now death where is your sting? Our resurrected King has rendered your defeated!" (Forever by Kari Jobe) After a rough start to our morning, hearing my babies sing this song on the way to school COMPLETELY made my day!

Day 8: I spent some time at the salon tonight. When she was finished with my hair, my hairdresser topped me off with a crown. Too bad my "real" hairdresser doesn't do that!

Day 9: Pulled up to the restaurant and it was snowing! They HAD to catch some. Too bad it only lasted about 5 minutes.

Day 10: I went back to the salon this morning. This time, for a nail appointment. My nail tech needs a little more practice. :-)

Day 11: Helping the Cowboys today! (Too bad it didn't work!)

Day 12: Daddy's turn at the salon tonight!

Day 13: An afternoon pick-me-up turned into a new fav at Sonic! That is a chicken strip and BBQ sauce in a mini hot dog bun! (There were pickles too. Of course I ate them first!)

Day 14: My job certainly takes a mental and emotional toll, but coming home to these 2 (and their daddy) makes it all better! So tonight, I continue to pray for the kids I work with, and love on the two I have the privilege of raising. Tomorrow? I'll get up and do it all over again...and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else!

Day 15: All good mama's put their babies in carseats. Too bad one (two) had to wait alone in the car for the rest of us to get out of school. ;-)

Day 16: World traveling!

Day 17: Got Davis signed up for t-ball this morning, and spent the evening at a birthday party. Thankful for sweet friends who have balloon-free parities so we can attend!

Day 18: I went to the grocery store after church, and came home to this. Love my boys!

Day 19: Anna played with ALL of her toys today. (And, yes! She's 3 and still sleeping in her crib. She sleeps REALLY good. I don't mess with a good thing!)

Day 20: My tiny helper.

Day 21: From one of the kids I work with. A reminder of why I do what I do...and that I'm not done yet! ;-)

Day 22: Saving the world!

Day 23: "Hey, Mom! Take a picture of me and my baby sitting criss-cross applesauce!"

Day 24: Watching Valentine's movies. Saturday secret...none of us got dressed today!

Day 25: Babe's. We don't get to come here often enough anymore.

Day 26: When we bought these things for them for Christmas, we had no idea how much they would love them!

Day 27: Open house at Couts. They were so excited to show us around and talk about the things they do all day!

Day 28: Snack in his rocket ship. While defending it with nunchucks. Space Ninja!

Day 29: He said "I'm Johnny Cash." Then put on a pretty great show! He sang Christmas carols...even though he knows actual Johnny Cash songs.

Day 30: "Pancakes with Parents" for our almost kindergartener this morning!

Day 31: Spina Bifida mom's night out! So thankful for time with other mom's who "get it."