Happy Father's Day

"A wise child brings joy to a father..." Proverbs 10:1

A Prayer Mat

Last week we had VBS at our church. The kids and I all enjoyed the Boomerang Express, but were completely pooped by the end of the week. I volunteered to teach the 4-year old class (all 15 of them), while Caroline and Will got to spend time with some of their favorite teachers. On the last night of VBS, I had the kids in my class make prayer mats to coincide with our lesson on prayer. According to the parents, the kids really liked this craft so I decided to let Caroline make one as well. It turned out pretty cute and now resides next to her bed to help remind her to prayer before she goes to sleep each night.

Waterpark finatics

On Wednesday, the kids packed up and headed to Geyser Falls to meet Pop. To say they were excited about our little excursion would be an understatement. They danced in their seats all the way there. Once there, Caroline quickly showed her brother the lay of the land. Of course neither kid was the least bit intimidated by the slides or water, and to my surprise they both went down some of the bigger kid slides with my help. Will was tickled pink that I let him go down a big slide and kept saying, "gin" (translation: again). When I finally had enough, he looked up said, "Pop?" to see if he would take him.

When it came time to leave, you would have thought that they had just gotten there with all of the commotion. We were there for 6 hours and without a nap, so by the time we finally convinced them it was time to go home, they were both practically asleep in our arms as we headed out the gates. Pop...get ready next week because according to Caroline, we're coming back!

Annual check-up

This month I took the kids to their annual pediatric check-up. Well, it was actually Will's 18-month old check-up and Caroline's 3-year old check-up. Granted, I'm a little behind on both of these because it took forever to get an appointment scheduled for the both of them back-to-back. Who knew that was such a big deal? Anyway, I thought that was a smart idea....WRONG! In the future, I will not dare put myself through such drama. I had no idea that both of them were going to get shots and that just about put all of us over the edge. The real hurdle, though, was keeping Will corralled while they gave Caroline a big girl check-up, complete with blood pressure check, temperature, height/weight, finger prick and urine analysis (yes, she I had to get her to peepee in a cup, all the while making sure Will didn't try to swipe the cup...what a photo op that was). She did wonderful and didn't cry a single tear while getting her finger pricked or receiving her shot. Will on the other hand was not thrilled about his shots, but settled down as soon as he saw the sucker I had waiting for him.

According to Dr. Rohman, Caroline is in the 90th percentile for her age in height and 75th percentile for her age in weight, while Will is in the 30th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. Caroline's stats didn't suprise, but I am still a little suprised that Will is considered small, and you can only imagine his Daddy's reaction. Unfortunately, he may be taking after his Mama in more ways than one. However, Mamaw Kat reassures us that Matt was always a little scrawny thing (well, maybe she didn't use that word exactly) until he reached high school. So, we're keeping our fingers crossed that he'll overcome his Mama's vertically challenged lot in life.

We did have a little concern when Dr. Rohman scheduled Caroline for an echo after hearing a heart murmur she's had since birth. Within a few days of her check-up, we were at the hospital getting it all checked out. Again, Caroline was a champ and did not utter a peep when getting hooked up to everything. She sat so still and cooperated so well for the technician, and afterwards the tech told her that she was a better patient than some of her adults. Again, God has blessed us because everything came back completely normal on all of the tests.

We are so thankful that both of our kids are healthy, happy, and thriving. So much so that this Mama will know not to schedule their next check-up back-to-back. Otherwise, she'll be headed to the doctor...the psychiatrist, that is!

Oh, and the pictures I've posted are from a recent attempt to get a good shot of the kids together in their matching smocked outfits. Pop and Mimi's house provided the best backdrop, but despite numerous attempts, the perfect photo just didn't happen. Just check out the sequenced shots below for a good laugh.

1st trip to the big screen

This weekend, I took Caroline to see her first movie at a movie theater. I still remember the first movie I saw at the theater....ET. Boy, things have changed since then...prices have more than doubled, there is stadium seating and the theater itself is a site to behold. Anyway, we met Mecie, Hunter and Helen at the Malco to see UP. Of course we got there early so we could get our popcorn and coke and make sure we got a good seat. It was the cutest little movie and to top it off it was in 3D!

At first, I was a little concerned as to whether or not Caroline would wear the glasses, especially since it appeared that a dinosaur was about to swallow us alive in one of the movie previews. After I explained to her that nothing was actually going to eat us (well, other than her seat because she was too small to keep it from folding back up) and that the movie we had come to see was not going to be scary (or at least I hoped it wasn't), she was fine just sitting back in my lap and enjoying the show. Afterwards, she informed me that we needed to come back to the movies again one day because it was really fun.

A Happy Sunday Morning

Happy 16th Birthday, Uncle A!

16, really? My time flies....I remember when I would ask you to say elephant over and over again because your pronunciation of it was hilarious. And then there was our wedding...look how little and cute you were! We all wish you a Happy Birthday and can't wait to take a ride with you once you get your "official" license...well, maybe I'll be the only one taking a ride with you for now! :)

KK's Baby Shower

This past weekend, we hosted a baby shower at Ye Olde Drugstore Deli for KK. Everyone enjoyed sundaes, cake and coke floats, while KK got some really cute things for baby Katelyn. I just did finish my handmade presents in time for the big event. (Can you tell that I really enjoy sewing these days?) Without my buddy Tamah, I could not have gotten it all done. She was a life saver and stayed up with me until midnight to get everything monogrammed and looking good!
Of course KK didn't have any trouble opening her presents because she had two very experienced gift openers who were more than willing to help her in the task. You would have thought the party was for Caroline and Helen because they had a blast. They both agreed that going to teas is a lot of fun...especially since the boys stay at home.Both girls spent a great deal of time writing their soon-to-be baby cousin a note to go into her baby book that Mimi made for her. I know they will be thrilled to have a baby girl to play with. Since KK got most everything she needs for her upcoming arrival, the wait is now on! KK...we hope you can stay cool during these hot summer months!

Who says white boys can't jump?

Because our 19 month old sure can. Last night I put Will to bed and all seemed just fine. A little later in the evening, however, he began crying. I shrugged it off and told myself he would go back to sleep. A little later than that, and I looked down to see none other than little Will Fisher coming out of his room. Hmmm...did I forget to raise the gate to his bed? Nope, he jumped out. If you are wondering why I think he jumped rather than climbed out it is because Matt and I put him back in to see if he would do it again. Sure enough, the little stinker started jumping and was about to thrust himself onto the floor again. Did I mention before that he is fearless?

A few more water pictures

My friend Tamah took these pictures of the girls and I think they are precious.

Meeting Winnie the Pooh

This past weekend, we took the kids to the Renaissance Fine Arts Festival. We're not too big on fine art, but we do love our Winnie the Pooh. Since he was at story time at Barnes and Noble, we made certain we were on hand to meet the big fella. Caroline was so excited and even took the Winnie the Pooh she stole from Nana's house with her. She anxiously sat on the front bench to be sure she had a good seat during story time, and was thrilled when she actually got to touch him.
Abby and Tamah joined us, so afterwords, we all headed down to the watering hole (or whatever you call those little water sprinklers that come out of the ground). The kids had a blast and we were once again reminded of how fearless our little son is. Matt even had a dad come up to him and ask if Will was his son. Matt claimed him of course, and the guy said, "Wow, he is really fearless, isn't he? My son won't even play in the water like he does and he is four." Great...just what I wanted to hear...that means that by the time he is four he'll be doing even bigger tricks.Of course while we were at the Renaissance, Tamah and I had to hit The Loft. I love that store and love their sales even more. We took turns shopping since we could tell Matt was a little nervous about watching all three at once. While she was shopping I decided, what the heck...I'm not going into anymore stores and they are having so much fun...I'm going to run through the water too. I managed to dodge the water pretty well and only got wet from when the kids decided to kick water up at me, those little boogers!

I've got teeth....

...and I know how to use them. Unfortunately, over the past few months Will has become a biter when someone (namely his sister) takes things away from him. I guess since he is smaller, this is the best line of defense he can think to use. Anyway, biting is not allowed, so he has become rather comfortable in timeout. Thankfully, it seems to be working because his timeout sessions are dwindling. He is the most precious little boy when he comes out of timeout because he softly gives me a hug and then gives the victim (his beloved sister) a hug as well.

When Mamaw Kat was here this weekend, she asked if he always sat so still and quiet in timeout, to which I replied, "yes, because he's had lots of practice lately."