Friday, October 7, 2011

Daniel's School Pics

 
The school photographers always out do themselves & this year is no different. I especially love that they give them a comb before the pics, that Daniel very obviously used to comb his bangs straight down! People with curly hair can't comb their hair & shouldn't be given a comb on picture day, at least not until after the picture is taken. Maybe the next time PTO asks me to volunteer on picture day, I will, and I will step in & save the curly haired kids from any comb damage!!
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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Princess Leia & Luke Skywalker

 
Laura Ann needs a little work, but Daniel is right on the mark.......looks just like him!!
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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

My Little Reader

 
Daniel started reading by himself last year, but he the better he gets at it, the more he likes it. And I love that he loves it! His class studied frogs this past week in science & read Frog & Toad books for reading. He enjoyed reading my set of them at home.
 
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Happy 5th Birthday, Laura Ann!

We actually let her open her gift from us yesterday since she is at home on Mondays & would have the whole day to play with it. That ended up being a great idea because she played with it ALL DAY LONG. She literally did not move at all for the 3 hours after she opened it!!
She requested cinnamon toast for her birthday breakfast.....and of course she loved the candles & singing!
The birthday girl took cookies & Strawberry Shortcake napkins & hats to school to celebrate with her Crayon Class friends
I gave her a leftover cookie for her snack when she got home & she asked where was her candle?? So, I added a candle & sang to her! This girl can't get enough of birthday fun!
She had a hard time deciding on where she wanted to eat for her birthday dinner, but finally decided on Cracker Barrel. She enjoyed gravy & biscuit and then chocolate birthday cake. She wasn't crazy about the waitresses singing to her.....guess they aren't as good as our family!!! :-)
Then we headed to the movie theater and watched Dolphin Tale.....such a great movie!! We've been looking forward to it since the summer when we saw the dolphin show at the Georgia Aquarium.
We sang to her one last time when we got home and she enjoyed one last birthday cookie.

Whew, what a day! We celebrated from the time she got up until the time she went to bed. And we were thrilled to get to do it. This little girl is such a huge blessing in our lives and brings us such joy. I am so thankful that God chose me to be her mom. Watching her grow up is bittersweet. I'm so, so thankful that she is strong and healthy on one hand, but on the other, I just want to freeze her and keep her a little girl forever! These birthdays are just coming & going way too fast. It seems like she should only be about 2! Happy Birthday to the most precious little girl I know! I love you more than life sweet girl and look forward to seeing what God has planned for your little life!

Some things to remember about you at 5:
-You LOVE to draw & color. You spend lots of time everyday doing this.
-And speaking of drawing, you are quite good at it. I always love the details you include. You seem to relate to life in this way & draw lots of your life experiences. And since these are all your precious works of art that can't be thrown away, our entire house is overflowing with your artwork.
-You also like to read books, play anything princess (especially dressing up) & play with your babies
-You adore you brother, but are not afraid to put him in his place if needed. Nobody messes with Laura Ann & gets away with it.....even Daniel.
-In an effort to be just like Daniel, you refuse to wear pajamas to bed.....just your pull-up!
-You have your daddy totally & completely wrapped around your little finger! I guess a better way to put it would be that the two of you have a super special relationship. You call him your prince & he does a great job playing the role. I just hope that some where along the way you learn that your next prince (husband) will have to say no sometimes, even though Daddy never does!
-You are a 'frilly' girl.....you love anything that sparkles, jewelry & make-up
-But even so, you can hang right in there with Daniel & his buddies doing something rough
-You are SO BRAVE! I learned that about you this year after 2 ivs & a broken arm. You took all of that in stride & were such a trooper about all of it!
-You love school & church.....mostly because lots of crafty things happen in those places.
-You aren't shy in the least, but for some reason (attention, I guess?), for the better part of this year, you wrap yourself around my leg anytime I have to drop you off & have to be pried off by your teacher. No tears, though!
-You love to SING and you sing a lot at home......mostly when you are in your room by yourself or in the bathtub, but we can still hear you!
-And speaking of singing, you are quite the drama queen too!
-You are the most curious child I have ever met & ask at least 4 million questions everyday. Lots of which I have no answer to. This does not make you happy. You want details, lots & lots of details. I am already praying for your future husband in this regard. Bless him!
-You wake up slowly, just like me. It's not unusual for you to wake up, but not come downstairs for an hour!
-Most of the time, you are totally unselfish & giving. You gladly share almost anything with Daniel, no matter how important is to you. It doesn't matter if it is candy or a toy, you are happy to give. Love this about you!

This list could go on and on as always, but I'll stop here. Gran calls you her sunshine & you truly are such a big, sweet, bright light in our lives. I love you and look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with you! I'm praying your life verse for you today:

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strenthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12

Saturday, October 1, 2011

All Things Strawberry

Sweet little girls ready for a tea party!
 
Laura Ann literally loves strawberries & will eat an entire carton at a time if I will let her. She has also grown to love all of the Strawberry Shortcake dolls over the past few months. I wanted her to have a tea party birthday & she wanted a Strawberry Shortcake birthday, so we combined the two & had a Strawberry Shortcake Tea Party. To say she was excited about today would be an understatement! Every morning this past week, she would either ask or inform me how many days until her party. She could hardly wait for her friends to arrive this morning. We kicked off the party with crafts.....a strawberry necklace, some SS coloring sheets & a handprint strawberry. Then we played a couple of games....pass the teacup & pass the napkin to teach tea party manners. It was finally time after the games to dress up in tea party finery, followed by a photoshoot on the porch. And at last, 8 sweet little girls (+ Fallon, who came later, after her soccer game) made their way to the dining room for a tea party & they were the cutest things ever! They were all very careful and used their very best manners. Laura Ann was super excited to open gifts & all I can say is that her friends know her very well. She got lots of her favorite things! She announced after the last gift that it was time for everyone to come to her room & they all headed upstairs for some playtime. Our 'strawberry girl' loved every single minute of her party from start to finish. Lucky for her, the tea party was only the beginning of her birthday celebration!

*And I have to say a very special thank you to my friend, Carrie Anne, who took pics for me all during the party! She took so many detail pics that I would've missed & it was so nice to just be the host & not worry about pictures! Thanks so much Carrie Anne!*

After all of her friends were gone, it was time for her 'family party'. We had pizza for lunch & then it was time for more singing, blowing & cupcakes! This girl had a full day of celebration & it's not even her birthday yet!!!
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Thursday, September 29, 2011

WEE Center Family Night

 
After the parade, we went out for a quick dinner & then headed to the WEE Center for family night. We got to see Laura Ann's classroom & all that she has been working on in the past few weeks. We also got to visit with Mrs. Ashley and all of her Crayon friends. Mrs. Ashley had out supplies for them to make scarecrow cookies & those were a hit! We are so thankful that Laura Ann has gotten of to a great start in 4K!!! She is LOVING it!

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Husky Homecoming

 
We look forward to Husky Homecoming every year, solely because of the parade & the candy that we collect during it! And doing this with friends makes it even better! It was a super fun afternoon & we do wish the Huskies all the best in their game tomorrow night! Go Huskies!

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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Card Games......

.......are all the 'craze' at our house right now!
 
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Bird Watching

This post is for you, Pop, our family bird lover!
 
Daniel got all into watching the birds in our trees this afternoon. Armed with a notepad to take notes & binoculars to get a close up look, he may just end up like his Pop!
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Monday, September 26, 2011

Just Hanging Out......

.....in a Go-Go dress!!!
 
Laura Ann is LOVING all of Merrill's old dance costumes!
 
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Sunday, September 25, 2011

Happy Birthday Gran & Papa

 
We went to Sam & Heather's today to celebrate Gran & Papa's birthday. The kids had a ball playing (mine didn't want to leave) & of course, loved blowing out candles & enjoyed big slices of birthday cake. Happy Birthday Gran & Papa!! We love you!

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Saturday, September 24, 2011

ROLL TIDE!!!

 
After Daniel's game this morning, we took off to Ttown to watch the Tide play Arkansas. Nanna & Big Daddy came with us & we had a great day! Daniel L.O.V.E.S going in the stadium & watching the game. He can kind of understand what is going on now & that definitely makes the game more fun for him. Big Daddy bought a program & I think he memorized every single page! Laura Ann doesn't get the game yet, so we brought along her crayons and she drew pictures of the football players, band members, cheerleaders, Big Al, and her latest craze.....the 'Sparkle Girls' (aka majorettes)! No surprise that she loved all of the pregame & halftime shows! They also enjoyed all that the concession stand had to offer. It was a super fun time in Bryant Denny & we can't wait to go again! ROLL TIDE!!

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Sunday, September 18, 2011

CARTOONS

 
These two love to snuggle up in our bed & watch cartoons!
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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Build A Bear Fun

 
One of Laura Ann's oldest & most favorite friends, Alleigh, had a Build-A-Bear birthday party today & it was a hit! Laura Ann came home with 'Butterfly', whom she is totally enthralled with! Happy Birthday, Alleigh!!
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Cowboys vs. Raiders

Love this one of my 2 favorite guys!
 

We played the Raiders a tough game today, but fell just a little short. It was a great game & the boys all had a good time. Daniel's friend, Braden, from his class at school was on the Raiders & after the game was over, he came over & gave Daniel the biggest hug & told him good game.....this was after the teams had already lined up & congratulated each other. I just love seeing good sportsmanship!!!
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