The Golden Anniversary

Our family was so glad to have the opportunity to help Uncle Richard and Aunt Clay Crawford celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The parents of four girls, lots of grandchildren and one great grandson, there house has always been a gathering place for the entire family. The day was packed with lots of activities, and the reception was beautiful. Of course our kids enjoyed playing with cousins and dancing to the live music.

After the party, we all headed over to the Crawfords to continue visiting with family since many had traveled so far to see everyone. When our kids saw everyone was going for a dip in the pool, we had no choice but to accommodate their desire to join them. Of course that meant swimming in their clothes, but that didn't bother them a bit.

Aunt Clay and Uncle Richard....congratulations and we wish you many more happy years together!

Santa eats Mehcan too!

On a recent trip to Philly, Pop and Mimi treated everyone to Mexican. This of course tickled Caroline because she loves to check out everyone's Mexican restaurant. Anyway, while we were there we noticed a man was eating near us that looked exactly like Santa Claus except he was wearing overalls instead of his red suit. Caroline was absolutely beside herself. When she realized the bathrooms were located near this man's table, she suddenly had to go. Of course she also wanted me to say something to him to see if he really was Santa Claus.

When we passed by the kind man, he couldn't help but notice the two little eyes staring at him. So, I felt I must address the obvious infatuation she had over him. I told him that my daughter thought he had a strong resemblance to Santa Claus to which he replied, "you never know." Oh, boy...that just about made Caroline wet her pants. He then patted his front pocket and said, "I have my notes and pen right here, so be good little girl." Needless to say, we had no problem getting Caroline to eat ALL of her food. When we got ready to leave, she wanted to go back over to him and talk some more, but I convinced her that he needed to eat his food in peace. Thankfully, though, he waved to her as she left. Naturally this Santa siting at Pop and Mimi's Mexican restaurant means we will be getting a good many more requests to eat there by some little girl!

Will's 1st Haircut

This weekend we decided to give Will his first trim. Not that he had that much hair to trim, but he was beginning to show signs of a mullet and I refuse to let my son have a mullet...or at least as long as I am in control of his hair styles! Anyway, being that we were going to see lots of family on Saturday for the Crawford's 50th wedding anniversary shindig, we thought it was as good a time as any to get him looking like a little boy. Since I have been cutting Mamaw's and Caroline's hair for the last year, I figured I would try cutting Will's hair. As it turns out, his hair is easier to cut except for the fact that we could hardly keep him still long enough to be certain it was straight. Oh well if it isn't...he is never still, so no one will ever know if his hair is a little crooked in the back.

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?