(Almost) Summer Celebrations!

We've had a fun week! The school year is coming to an end and I am ready for summer break! I just love my little class this year, but they are ready for a break and so is their teacher!

We've had play dates with a couple of friends this week. We had a great time having dinner with the Robertsons and the girls loved playing with Damari.

We also hung out with Cooper this week.

How cute is this guy?!

And we celebrated the birthdays of TWO very special people in our lives. We had dinner out on Tuesday to celebrate Anna's birthday. We all had a great time!And today is Marie's birthday. Brian's family came over and we had a great time spending time with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Marie. Rayna was feeling much better than when we saw Grandpa and Grandma a couple of weeks ago. We all had fun celebrating Aunt Marie's birthday. Happy birthday, Marie!!
And we have one more HUGE thing to celebrate. Our dear friends Justin and Tara got approved to adopt from India!!! Justin and Tara have a passion for adoption, but have hit several roadblocks in their adoption journey. But it looks as if God is opening the door for them to adopt from India and we are beyond thrilled for them!! To read more, click HERE.

Molly Moment

I love all of the conversations I've been having with Molly lately. I wanted to document some more of them this month. She's such a smart little cookie!

Last night, Molly spilled her milk.

Molly: I am really, really very sorry I spill my milk, Daddy.
Daddy: It's okay, Honey.
Molly: It's okay, Daddy. I forgive you.

She has been very interested in boys/girls. One of her favorite games is to ask me who is a boy and who is a girl. She also likes answering that question.

Me: Is Ruby a boy or a girl?
Molly: A girl!
Me: Is Cooper a boy or a girl?
Molly: A boy!
Me: Is Damari a boy or a girl?
Molly: A baby!

Our little lady likes to ask us about our days. Perhaps Mommy should stop complaining about being tired after work!

Molly: How was you work today, Daddy? How was the plants?
Daddy: It was fine, thank you.
Molly: How was you work today, Mommy? How was the kids?
Me: They were fine.
Molly: You is tired, aren't you, Mommy?

Our Little Flower Girl

Well, she was just about the cutest flower girl you've ever seen and SHE MADE IT DOWN THE ISLE!! I had a lot of doubts when we got to the church and she refused to leave me, but Brian took her so that I could take my place on the front row. So I had no idea whether or not she was coming down or not, but she did! She walked down the isle and sat with me until we all stood up for Stefanie. At that point she was already (in a very loud voice) talking and asking questions so I thought that would be a good time for us to make our exit. We spent the rest of the wedding in the nursery playing with toys, but we actually had the best seat in the house because they broadcast it onto the T.V. in the nursery so we got to watch the whole ceremony. The wedding was beautiful and Stefanie was a gorgeous bride. The reception was a lot of fun and we had a great time with our family. Congratulations, Jason and Stefanie!! :-)

Fun in Goldsboro!

We're in Goldsboro and having a great time so far! It's been so nice to spend time with our family. I've had my doubts about whether or not Molly will walk down the isle tomorrow, but so far she's doing really well. She did a great job at the rehersal. She walked down the isle every time! We're hopeful that she does just as well tomorrow!

Molly was very excited when she found out that our hotel has a pool!

All of the girls had fun at the luncheon today. Molly was thrilled to get her own place at the table with her own name plate. She thought she was pretty big stuff!

And Rayna is having fun, too! She seems to be doing a lot better with her ears and slept well last night. (Even if she was up at the crack of dawn!)

Winston-Salem

I realize that this is several days overdue, but better late than never, right?! We went to Winston-Salem to see Brian's parents last weekend and had a great time, as always. Rayna wasn't herself on that trip and continued to be fussy and not sleep well. I finally took her to the doctor yesterday, and both of her ears were infected. Poor baby. She's been quite the little trooper considering she is cutting another tooth and has a double ear infection. I had awful ear infections when I was little, so I'm hoping she's not going to follow in my foot steps as far as that goes. She's had three doses of her antibiotic and we are already seeing a difference which is good news because we are leaving for Goldsboro in the morning. My cousin is getting married this weekend and Molly is in the wedding--exciting! I'll see if I can manage to get a couple of pictures. :-)

Fun at Grandpa and Grandma's

Mama's Night Owl

It's so fun to see our characteristics popping up in Molly. Molly and I are a lot alike. There's the whole nature vs nurture debate, but I think she's got a lot of her Mama in her simply because God had her planned for our family since the very beginning. We both love going for walks. We like playing with our friends. Anything mint chocolate is our FAVORITE. And we are night owls. Yes, we would both love to stay up late and sleep in late. Rayna is currently sleeping from about 6:30-6:30 (waking up once), but Molly has always slept 8:00-8:00. Until now. The last few weeks, if Molly takes a nap, she is up RIDICULOUSLY late. I mean 9:30-10:00 late. Last night, I went to bed at 11:30 and she was still up. Seriously?! 11:30?! Now it's 8AM and we are supposed to be on our way to Winston-Salem, but Molly does NOT want to get up. She's so much like her Mama! :-)

But all joking aside, I'm going to talk to her pediatrician about it, because it kind of has me worried. I mean, even if she is outgrowing her nap, an hour of sleep during the day shouldn't keep her up an additional 3 hours at night, should it? What do you think--I'd love some advice!

While my goal is to get her back on a normal sleep schedule now, I do have to smile when I think of the two of us in about 15 years--staying up late and eating our mint chocolate-chip ice cream. :-)

Big Girl!

Rayna is getting so big, so fast! This has been a big week for her! We moved her out of her infant car seat and into a bigger car seat, she cut her first tooth, and she's trying to crawl! She's just growing and changing so much!

Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day. Molly came into my room first thing this morning with a homemade card and said, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!" So sweet! We went to church, came home and took naps, then went out with Mom to dinner and the park. We'll be celebrating Mother's Day with Brian's mom next weekend. It was a nice day! :-)
And I will never celebrate a Mother's Day without thinking of my sweet boy that first made me a Mommy. We love and miss you everyday, Zeke.

Springtime Fun

So far this Spring has been much more enjoyable than last Spring. Last Spring I was struggling with "morning" sickness all day everyday. But this Spring, I feel great and we have a new little sweetie to share the season with. We've been having a lot of fun times! The Thirty-One party I hosted was a lot of fun. Molly and Rayna enjoyed playing with their buddies.
When I woke up this morning, I thought it would be the perfect day to go strawberry picking. When I talked to my friend Alicia she said they were going this morning so we decided to be a little spontaneous and quickly got ready and left. It was a lot of fun! I'm fairly certain that Molly ate more than she picked! Can you guess what we had for dessert tonight? Strawberry Shortcake, of course!!

Backpack Babies

PS...Yes, I realize that Molly is carrying around an entire bag of Wheaties. No, I have no idea why. Other than the fact that I was trying to cook dinner and care for two small children. That kid has gotten away with an awful lot since her little sister has come along!

Thirty-One

Technically, I suppose this should go on my other blog since it's not a "family update," but I've been a little slack with my other blog and I'm not sure that anyone is reading it. :-)

I am hosting a Thirty-One party this Thursday at 3:30PM at my house and you're invited! :-)

If you are unable to come, but would like to place an order, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Rayna is six months old today!! She has grown and changed so much this month. She is starting to sit up for short periods of time by herself. And she is SO busy! If she sees something across the room that she wants, she knows how to roll to get it. She rolls all over the place, just like her big brother did.

She hasn't had any teeth pop through yet, but she is drooling and chewing on her hands, so I'm guessing it will be soon.

She is beginning to show interest in everything around her. She is grabbing things with one or both hands and starting to put things in her mouth. (This could mean trouble in the next few months!)

She is a very good eater! She still nurses and takes a bottle very well and is eating some solid foods. She is currently eating rice cereal, carrots, peas, green beans, squash, prunes, apples, and bananas.

She is a great sleeper at night. (She usually eats one time at around 3AM then goes back to sleep.) She's getting better with taking naps. She is pretty much taking two naps everyday although she still fights it.

She is SUCH a sweet pumpkin. We love her so much and just can't remember what life was like before her. :-)

3 days

1 Month
2 Months
3 Months
4 Months
5 Months
6 Months
Speaking of 1/2 birthdays, do you realize that Molly is now 2 and 1/2?!

Wasn't it just yesterday that we were staring at her beautiful baby face on a computer screen wishing she was home for her 1/2 birthday? Now she's a big 2 and 1/2 year old! :-)