Halloween 2009

It was so fun to have both kids really get into Halloween this year. Last year, they were Dorothy and the scarecrow and Will was not into it at all. I'm not sure how to link to old posts, but if you are curious about those pictures, feel free to check Oct. 2008.
Madeline received a fairy costume from her Uncle Robbie, Aunt Gina, and Emma and decided it would make a good costume. I went to Goodwill and found all the pieces needed to make Will into a precious pirate. He also had a pirate hat but would not wear it.
I love this picture because, if you look on the left side, they are holding hands. Will was excited every time we put the costume on and just kept saying, "Cheese!" when we took his picture. Again, this was a nice change from last year!
This next shot actually caught him saying, "Cheese" with his little lisp. It also showcases his sword that I am still amazed he kept tucked into his belt at all times.

Here's Maddie showing off her beautiful wings. She was a little upset that she had to wear a sweater due to cool temperatures. I still think she looked adorable!

Again, just adorable!!!

Here's a full shot of Will. This may be one of the most practical and cute costumes I have ever put together, yet so simple and inexpensive!

They loved doing some quick trick-or-treating and enjoyed their parties at school as well. We are already planning our costumes for next year!

Madeline's 5th birthday and party

My sweet girl, Madeline, turned 5 on September 22. I still can't believe that she is already 5! It sounds a lot older and now, when people ask her how old she is, they also ask if she is in kindergarten. I really feel like time has just flown by and my baby girl will be starting kindergarten next year!
Unfortunately, she woke up the morning of her birthday with a fever, so I stayed home from work with her, thinking it was just one of the 24 hour fever viruses my children are prone to catching.
Luckily, she perked up enough by that evening to open some presents. One of her favorites was a cute pink stroller for her baby dolls that she loves to play with.

I also kept Will home, so he was all smiles about his day off from school and enjoyed the extra "Mommy time." Here he is showing off his very handsome smile. It just melts my heart!

Even though she was going to have a birthday cake at her party the following Saturday, I made her some cupcakes to celebrate the day she was born. This picture, for those who know her well, shows just how poorly she was feeling by this point.

The next morning, her fever got very high and she was diagnosed with swine flu! Later that day, Will started coming down with the same symptoms and was also diagnosed with swine flu. Their daddy kept calling it "Razorback Fever." We were so worried that she would not be well in time for her party with her friends on Saturday but, thanks to Tamaflu, she was back to normal by Saturday.
Her best friend, Haley, happens to have a birthday on the 26th. So, we decided to have their party together since they would be inviting all the same people. We had it at Madeline's gymnastics/dance studio and the kids had a blast. I enjoyed the fact that the staff does all the planning. We just had to show up:)
The trampoline was a big hit! Here is Maddie in the pink and her friend Katelyn. I'm not sure who the little boy is. They also played some games and generally just ran around on the springboard floor and played on all the different equipment.

Haley and Madeline shared a princess cake and had lots of fun opening all the wonderful gifts from friends and family. It was such a nice way to celebrate these special girls! Thank you to all who came and helped us make it such a special time.

Labor Day

We celebrated Labor Day at my parents' house and were excited when Aunt Gina and cousin Emma made the trip down from Little Rock for the day. Even though our South AR heat was intense, the kids still wanted to play outside a lot especially with Will's t-ball set his Aunt Lindsey and Uncle John got for his 2nd birthday.

Here is Will retrieving his hit (unfortunately it is still very close to the tee).
Madeline and Emma decided to take a quick break in the shade and watch Will and his Daddy play in the yard.

Madeline took to this game right away and made us start thinking about signing her up for a league next spring since she enjoyed it so much.

Emma also loved taking a turn with the tee. Hmmm. . . this might be a good gift idea!

As usual, we grilled out and had a great time enjoying a day off with family. Thanks mom and dad for the wonderful day!

Surprise, surprise!

No, there is not any major news in our home but I'm sure it was a great surprise to my followers to see that I have finally updated my blog after many, many months. In my defense, my card reader quit, then my hard drive on my computer crashed, and finally, my special camera battery stopped charging up! It has not been a good few months in technology around our home:( We are currently working on Dave Ramsey's plan to get completely debt free so we are following a strict budget. It is going pretty well but with the holidays coming, there is not room in the budget to replace everything yet. Oh well, I will get caught up eventually. Luckily, my dad is good about taking pictures at all the family gatherings, so I will try to get to their house and upload some pictures when I get a chance.

So, here is an update on all of us for those who haven't' completely given up on reading my blog:

Nathan and I are very busy at work but having good years. He has 2 extended classes, which means he gets 1 1/2 hours with those kids instead of the usually 50 min. He likes getting to do more in depth work with them. He is still doing a great job of being a mentor to boys in the school's Gentlemen's Club. He has now taken charge and is doing wonderfully teaching these boys good behaviors and manners. I have a very smart group of kids who have wonderful and involved parents. It is so nice to know they will continue the work we do in class at home. Their children's performance shows their hard work! I have not always been so lucky in my teaching career to have so much support from parents.

Madeline is in her last year of preschool and is loving it. She is a very social little girl and loves being with her friends. She is learning to read and has really come far in her handwriting. She is also taking dance and gymnastics and is doing very well. She turned 5 on September 22, the same day she came down with the dreaded H1N1 virus. She gave it to Will as well but Nathan and I managed not to get it. Luckily, she got better in time for her birthday party that Saturday. I still can't believe I have a 5 year old who will be starting kindergarten next year!

Will has been growing and changing rapidly. He had a bit of a tough transition back to school but he got into a routine pretty quickly and now loves to go and see his friends and teachers. He is a homebody at heart but I am glad he has the opportunity to be social while he is at school. He is really starting to talk a lot. For some reason, he loves to say, "chicken samich" and "chicken spice." He is using more sentences and communicating more clearly everyday. He is still very sweet and affectionate. Unfortunately, he had his first emergency room trip last Friday after hitting the bricks on our hearth with his head. Maddie was trying to pick him up and they fell backwards. He split his forehead and had to have 3 stitches. Luckily, his Uncle Robbie the pediatrician, was in town for Thanksgiving and took his stitches out for him. It healed nicely and I don't think the scar will be too bad.

Well, that's all I have for now. I will work on pictures when I get a moment. Thanks for your patience everyone:)

Update from the past few weeks

Since coming back from vacation, we have been very busy. I have been carving out some time to get my classroom ready and Nathan has been doing the same.
During all of this business, our precious baby boy turned 2! I guess I can't really call him a baby anymore because 2 sounds so much older than 1:) His birthday was on July 27 and we had a simple celebration at home. I made him special milk/egg/peanut-free cupcakes with icing, which he devoured. The rest of us thought they were pretty good; different but good.
All of our family that could not be present sent him some wonderful gifts. He was not that into opening gifts because he was so interested in the first one he opened and just wanted to play with it. After much coaxing and a little help from Madeline, he opened everything.
Will loves to pretend to cook, so his Uncle Robbie, Aunt Gina, and cousin Emma sent him this neat food set that you can pretend to cut. It is a big hit with both kids.

Maddie picked out a Handy Manny tool belt and visor as her gift to Will. He loves to wear the outfit and the visor must face backward (like his Daddy).

We gave him another Sesame Street stuffed animal. He loves his Cookie Monster but also has a great love for Elmo. He was so excited and just kept saying Elmo, Elmo over and over again when he realized what it was.

Here he is showing off his Handy Manny accessories.

Madeline enjoyed the festivities but said she is ready for her turn. September 22 can't come soon enough!

Speaking of Madeline, here is one of her new favorite past times. She gets dressed up and then climbs in the tub with all of her baby dolls. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "My babies kept asking me to come in here!"

We had a wonderful visit with Susan and Setler right after Will's birthday. They stayed for almost 3 days and we had a great time! Will and Setler were getting ready to watch a movie in the playroom in this picture. Thanks for coming! You guys are welcome anytime.

My big 2 year old also has something new he enjoys doing. He loves to get all of his cars and line them up on the back and arms of the couch. He drives them around and it is just so cute and boyish to me!

In honor of your birthday, I wanted to record some of my many thought about by precious boy:

Will,

These first 2 years we have spent with you have been wonderful. You are so special and unique to us, with your laid back attitude and your sweet affectionate nature. You are such a boy but also have such a kind and tender heart. You love to give big bear hugs and wet kisses and Daddy and I just can't get enough of them. Your favorite toy right now is a silver and pink mini-van with a little family sitting inside. You love to drive it around like it is a race car but are so sweet when you make sure all the family members are in their seats. You are talking more and more although we're not always sure how to translate. You like telling the dogs no by saying, "No Coldie (aka Chloe)!" even if its Molly. You have the cutest run because you really pick up your feet when you do it. You have gotten picky about eating but are so good with a fork and spoon. You love to have your Cookie, Elmo, and Chloe animals in bed even though you show them affection by chewing on their faces. You like your big boy bed but think it means you don't have to take a nap. I have loved watching you change and develop this year and can't wait to see what I have to say when you turn 3!

I am very happy and blessed to have you in my life. God is so good!!!

Ft. Morgan, Alabama

We just got back from a trip to the beach. We are normally Destin people, but decided to try something new and went to Ft. Morgan, AL. It is about 20 min. from Gulf Shores. Nathan's sister did a great job of planning and found us all a great beach house that had beautiful views and plenty of space. Thank you Jennifer!
I posted these first 2 pictures because I was so amazed at how well Maddie and Will handled the trip down. They were happy and just sort of hung out even when we got stuck in traffic for 2 hours in Gulf Shores!
Here's Madeline with her twin babies, Allie and Annie.

Here's Will with his trusty side-kicks, Chloe (named after our black dog) and Cookie Monster.

Here are all of the girls that came to the beach. Nathan's sister Jennifer, her daughter Carly, Nathan's mom Donna, me, Madeline, and Nathan's brother's wife Mary Martha. We were all dressed up to go to dinner.

Here are all the cousins on the Henry side, lined up by height: Will, Madeline, Neill, Jay, Carly, and Nicholas. We missed the oldest cousin, Katelyn, but understand that she had some important stuff going on at home in Fayetteville.

Here is Nathan with his parents and brother and sister. It is rare to get their family together for a picture and I thought this one turned out pretty well.

This was both kids first time at the beach. We weren't sure how they would like the ocean and sand but they loved it! Nathan had fun burying Maddie in the sand to create a mermaid look. The tail lacked detail because Maddie, much like her Mama, has some claustrophobic issues and couldn't stand to buried for that long:)

Neill was much more tolerant:) Nathan first dug a hole in the sand that was deep enough for him to stand up in and then buried him up to his neck. It was so fun and cute!

My kids did so well at the beach, that I got some great sunning time and even read the 1st 2 Twilight Books in 3 days!

Nathan and his fair skin was the only one to get any kind of sun burn, so he did less sunning and more playing with the kids in the ocean and sand. Here he is under the trustly umbrella.

For some reason, some of my pictures turned out hazy and I am no Photoshop pro, so sorry! Will was entertained by the most random things on this trip. This day, he played with a snorkel for a long time and was happy as a clam!

Madeline did not want to go to far into the ocean but was so content to play at the edge. She could not get enough of this!

Here is another fun random beach toy: A bungee cord and the pole of the umbrella. This occupied Will for about 45 min. I love the background of this picture and how precious he looks!

Overall, it was a fantastic trip and we really enjoyed getting to spend more time with Nathan's family. I can't wait to take the kids back again, now that we know how much they love it:)

Will Has Big Boy Hair!

Will has not had any kind of a haircut since he was born. He will be 2 on July 27. This is strange for us as Madeline has always had a lot of hair and had her first haircut at 6 months! In the past six months or so, he has grown some beautiful curls that we really enjoyed. But, the curls are starting to get out of control, especially in our South Arkansas humidity and heat!
Here is the side view of the curls:

Here is the back view. If he was a girl, he would probably have beautiful ringlets:)

So, yesterday, we took him to my salon and had our friend, Michelle, give him his first haircut. He was not into it at all. He had to sit in my lap and needed a sucker just to get through.
After getting the sucker, he did pretty well until she pulled out the clippers to trim up the sides and back. At that point, Nathan had to just hold his head still and let him cry. But, it was over quickly and I could not believe how much older he looked!
Here is the side view:

and here is the back view. I miss the pretty curls but also think the big boy look is just adorable! I may be biased, but I just think he is the most handsome little boy:)