Happy 4th of July!

I love my country and want to teach my children to do the same. Nathan let me sleep in this morning as I have been getting up early to exercise before it gets so hot. When I came into the family room, Madeline told me all about what the 4th of July celebrated and it was so cute to hear her version.
Later, we headed to our high school football stadium where a cute little festival was set up. It was typical for a small southern town: an antique car show, a few jewelry booths, snow cones, a patriotic pet show, and a few booths with games. Maddie and Will played a fishing game and this was Will's chosen prize. I'm sure it will provide lots of fun around our house for the next few days. I love the look on his face here. It is so typical of the "Mine!" toddler phase he is in.


Next, we hit the face painting booth. Will will not let someone paint on his face, so we gave Maddie her dollar and she went up to the booth. She was a little undecided about what to get.
Our local Camp Fire girls were the painters and they were so sweet and really took their time to make it look cute. Maddie did a great job of being really still.

Here is the final product. Red, White, and Blue stars for the occasion.

They also had a great time jumping on one of those jumping castles. It was Will's first time and we weren't sure what he would think, but he loved it and we had a hard time getting him off once their time was up. I tried to get a good picture but my camera does not do well with action shots. I'll have to see if my dad's camera did any better.

We left after about an hour because it was getting pretty hot and headed home. But these happy faces show just how much fun they had celebrating!

Happy Anniversary (a little early)!

Almost 7 years ago (June 29, 2002), Nathan and I were married in a beautiful ceremony at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Conway, AR.
We met during my sophomore year in college at the Sig Ep house on campus. We were friends for a few months and started dating in January of 2000. Our relationship was pretty calm and loving with no dramatic fights or break-ups along the way. We were so happy to be together and it just felt right. Almost 2 years after we started dating, Nathan proposed to me in front of my whole sorority in what was a very sweet, surprise proposal. It was funny to see all of my friends, in the video my parents insisted he have someone make when he called to ask for their blessing (they lived in Atlanta, GA at the time), with tears streaming down their faces because of the amazing way he proposed. I knew they were so happy for me.
So, that following June, we were married. Neither of us were nervous as we felt so blessed by God to have found each other. Once again, it just felt right.

We ended up moving to Atlanta, GA six months after we got married, where I started my elementary teaching career and Nathan entered the corporate world with Home Depot. We bought our first house and quickly became pregnant with our first child, Madeline. Before she was born, we took a trip to Destin, FL for our 2nd anniversary.

My love for Nathan grew as I watched him become a father. He couldn't wait for Madeline to be born and I will never forget the look on his face when he finally got to meet her in September of 2004.

After she was born, we enjoyed adjusting to our life as new parents although it was definitely hard, at times. We missed our family back in Arkansas and Nathan was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with corporate life. He did not like the long hours working and commuting and wanted to find a career that had more meaning. So, in late November of 2005, we moved to Helena, AR to run a group home for teen girls. It was a challenging job but one that we felt was important. Unfortunately, the company we worked for made some decisions that we could not support and we felt our family life was being compromised. We had visited my parents in their new town in South Arkansas and decided to move there when Nathan found the ideal graduate program that would allow him to get his Masters and become a certified teacher. So, we settled into our 2nd home and in July 2007, we welcomed our 2nd child, William.Shortly after Will was born, Nathan started his 1st teaching job and proved that he had found his ideal career. I stayed at home for Will's first 6 months and then returned back to the classroom in January 2008. We have been enjoying being the parents of 2 while both being teachers and have learned a lot along the way.

So, for those who stuck it out, that is the short version of our last 7 years together. It has been an amazing ride full of joy, laughter, excitement, fear, frustration, and lots of love. I know that God truly blessed me when Nathan came into my life. I look forward to many wonderful years with him and all of the blessings that will come into the next years our lives together.

(Hey, before you know it, we will have a child who is old enough to take a picture of us without having to look up:)

Another Fun Snack and some Water Play

Last week's trip to Whole Foods also brought Will his first taste of yogurt today. I was really unsure of how this would go over because it is so different from anything he has had before.
Madeline had her Dora yogurt and was acting silly, wanting me to take her picture. Sorry about the darkness of this picture. My camera is really tempermental (or at least that is what I claim, it might just be user-related).

Will made a funny face after his first taste but ended up really liking it. I think he would have licked the bowl if I had let him:) By the way, all of a sudden, he has gotten really good with a spoon and insists on feeding himself at all times. This is a big step for a child who preferred to eat the fast way, shoving the food into his mouth with his hands!

This afternoon, Nathan went to buy a new wading pool for the kids. He set up our slide so that they could slide into the water and they played happily for over an hour before dinner. Here's Will showing off his farmer's tan. His lower arms and legs look so much darker than his chest:)

Madeline really loved the slide and did all sorts of tricks on it. This is her favorite bathing suit because it shows her belly. Her Daddy is not sure what to think of this:)

Will had the best time with this big bubble wand. But, I had to pry it out of his hands when he started flinging the soap everywhere:) Notice his most recent injury. He took a spill on his Granny's deck last weekend. He is a little clumsy (like his Mommy) and doesn't always pay attention to where he is going. Nathan said he was playing the guitar and Will was just dancing away when he fell (that he might get more from Nathan:).

Maddie kept trying to "wash" Will's hair and he was not into that! I does look like he's laughing here but I believe he was screaming at her and she just acted like she didn't even hear him!

I promised more pictures of Madeline's new haircut. I took this yesterday when she wanted a picture of the card she made. Good luck to the recipient of this card. I hope they are good at reading the fine print! The haircut is so cute on her, despite the pained look. She is always trying to pose and this one went wrong, I think:)

I'm really loving my break. I can't believe I actually posted 2 days in a row! June may be a record Blogging month for me:)

Summer Fun!

Well, we've been off of school for 2 weeks now and we are getting down to some summer fun! Nathan spent the first week demolishing our kitchen and the next week putting in the new stuff while I completely cleaned and reorganized our whole house. Now, we have more time to enjoy each other. Nathan is teaching summer school in the morning, so the kids and I are keeping busy. Today, we went to story time at the library and had some nice play time at home. One fun thing that happened involved this:


Madeline watched, feeling slightly like we were doing something wrong. . . .

. . . as Will ate pudding for the first time!!!

Last Tuesday, he went for his milk food trial but, sadly, did not pass. He got hives around his mouth and they stopped after only about 1 or 2 ounces. They say that he must be getting close because that was the only reaction and it cleared up quickly. So, feeling sorry for my little boy who misses out on some fun treats, my mom and I went to Whole Foods and found some good milk, egg, and peanut free foods for him to eat. He seemed a little weirded out by the texture at first, but loved it and actually cried when it was all gone.

We also had a little crafting time this morning. Will is not overly interested in this but did color for a little while.

Note: He is sitting on our new kitchen floor but I still don't plan to post any more pictures until everything is done:)

Maddie loves to craft. She sat at our table with paper, markers, scissors, and glue for a while. She said she was making cards for people.

Do you like her new haircut? We decided that her long hair was looking more and more rough the longer it got and we missed her with the cute bob style. I'll try to find some better shots of it another time.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!

Random Catch Up Pictures

I'm sitting here at my parent's house because I could not stand another afternoon of trying to keep Maddie and Will out of the way while my kitchen is being worked on! The old kitchen was completely torn out and the new cabinets and appliances are in the process of being installed. I'll do another post about it when there are some pretty after pictures.

So, I thought I'd do some catching up with pictures my Dad has taken.

In March, something big happened in our house. Maddie decided, on her own, that she wanted to give up her night-night and sucking her thumb. She asked that, if she did, could she get her ears pierced. After a week of sleeping night-night free, we took her to get the job done and she was so excited!

However, no amount of excitement could change the fact that it does indeed hurt to have your ears pierced.

After lots of comfort and a trip to our favorite bakery, she was feeling great about the earrings!

Soon after, Madeline and I took a trip down to Texas with my parents to visit her Great Grandma and Grandpa Taylor. Their neighbors have a beautiful yard and my Dad took some great pictures. He took lots of picture while she played and caught this great shoot of her spinning around. She says that she was pretending to be Thumbalina.

This picture was my favorite because it is a common expression of hers when she looks up at me.

Here are my 2 brothers and I after John's law school graduation. Can you see the family resemblance? I'm so proud of my brothers and all they've achieved. Robbie is a pediatrician and is about to move to Tampa, FL to do a fellowship in Allergy/Immunology. I will hate having him and his family so far away! John and his wife Lindsey both graduated and are studying for the bar. They will be moving here to persue clerking jobs with 2 different judges in the area.

Here is Robbie and Gina's precious daughter, Emma. She is 2 1/2 and is very smart and fun to play with. I love when she has these cute pigtails in!

Here is a sweet picture of Will when he is not trying to attack the camera. I wish you could see the back of his hair. It has gotten so curly! Also, he wanted me to tell you that he has big news of his own! He has given up his paci and now sleeps in a big boy bed. Sigh! Where did my babies go?

My dad has an incredible camera with several great lenses, so he was able to get some good action shots at Maddie's recital.

I love this one of her going into a cartwheel!

Don't you think she has a pretty arabesque?

Now, I will keep saving so that one day, I will have a camera that takes wonderful pictures like these!

Traveling With and Without Children

My baby brother graduated from Law School last weekend, so we all headed up to Central and Northwest Arkansas to join the celebration. We had made the decision that, since the trip to Fayetteville is about 5 1/2 hours away, we would drop Madeline and Will at Granny's house in Conway instead. This was a mere 2 1/2 hour trip, surely that would be easy and fun, right?
Look how entertained Will is by this driving toy (excuse the blurry picture, we so need a new camera!).
Madeline is enjoying watching Enchanted for the 1000th time. She's even smiling because she is enjoying the ride, right?

Let me just say that these pictures were taken while I was leisurely riding along during the first 30 min. of the trip. Now, please notice that there are no more pictures of the rest of that drive because I was too busy trying to hand Will new toys/books to entertain him, only to have the thrown back a me! Madeline got tired of the movie and opted to entertain herself by whining and asking how much longer. We survived somewhat precariously by playing a Kidz Bop (sp?) CD found in a Happy Meal several times and bringing out the snacks, slowly, until we were close to Conway.

After getting both kids settled with Granny, we were on our way, kid-free. Now, please know that I love and adore my children, but Nathan and I RARELY ever go anywhere or do anything without at least one of them! So, this was so nice in contrast to the 1st part of the drive. We had such wonderful conversation and enjoyed the beautiful scenery on the way to Fayetteville.

We even stopped in a little town called, Alma so that Nathan could get some German Chocolate Ice Cream at Braums.

Then, when I went into a gas station to get a can of Dr. Pepper to pour over my wonderful Sonic ice that was left from my first drink stop in Conway (you just can't let it go to waste!), I found something amazing! The biggest can of Dr. Pepper I had ever seen. Now, for those who don't know, I LOVE Dr. Pepper!!! I even give it up every year for Lent because it is a BIG sacrifice for me. I wonder if I will ever find a can like this again?

The rest of the trip was wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that I forgot to take anymore pictures. Oh well. I'm really trying to improve!

My Growing Guy

My last post was all about Madeline, so I thought I'd give a good update on Will. He is now 22 months old. Let me tell you, it has flown by for me. I feel like he was this little guy just yesterday with almost no hair and still looking small in his highchair (this is him at about 8 months old).
Now, he has always been a big guy, coming into this world 2 weeks early at 9lbs 5oz! But, all of a sudden, my sweet baby boy is turning into a very cute but grown-up looking little boy. He is in the 75-95 percentile in height and weight! Here he is in his cute Easter sweater vest. When you see him next to Maddie, it looks like he will be the same height in no time, even with the 3 year age difference. He already weighs as much, even on his ultra-healthy food allergy diet. He has still not had to have a haircut but there is a cute cluster of curls at the back of his head. Nathan says we have to be careful not to let them turn into a mullet. We may live in South Arkansas but no mullets are allowed in this family!

I think he still looks a lot like Nathan, but people do tell me he looks like me from time to time. He does have my darker complexion and my brown eyes, which is nice considering Madeline is a mini, female version of Nathan.

Please excuse the stained bib. Most of you already know I have issues with the slobber. I just can't stand for him to wear a soaked shirt but refuse to buy new bibs because I just keep thinking it has got to stop sometime soon. He's almost 2! I did find some measure of comfort in my trusty Parenting magazine who said it is still normal at this age. Whew! Now I'll just have to find something else to worry about.

Speaking of worrying about Will, we are having to do less and less of it. He was a very late walker, but is starting to run around and climb a lot. My P.T. friends should be pleased with all of that gross-motor progress. He is also talking a lot more, something that was becoming a concern about 6 months ago. He says a lot of words, repeats almost anything, and is starting to use a few short sentences. His favorites are: "I go outside" and "I sing ABC". He does love to play outside but we now have a big poison ivy problem in the backyard, so it is a little harder to do. If anyone has a full-proven way to get rid of it safely, please speak up!

He is much more shy than Maddie ever thought about being but warms up to most people pretty quickly.

He loves being in the toddler class at his school after being in the baby room for so long.

Lately, I just love watching him play and interact with Madeline. It makes me so glad that they have each other!

We also had good/bad news in the food allergy department. At his latest check-up, he still tested positive for milk and eggs and has now added peanuts on the skin scratch test. But, his blood work all came up negative!!! That means that he is eligible for a food trial. We will start with milk, when we can get an appointment. The trial has to be done at the hospital, just in case. Please pray that the milk trial works. It is so hard to find foods with absolutely no dairy in them at all, especially in this more rural area. It would open up a whole new world of food for him as well. I'll update when the food trial happens!