APRIL Birthdays!

Well, we definitely know that it is not April anymore with the 100 degree temps we have been having, so I guess I may be a little behind on posting!  That's okay!  I just want to make sure it gets on here.  We have two birthdays to celebrate in April.  My nephew Samuel's birthday is on the 18th and Neena's birthday is the 20th!

My sister gave Samuel a Pirate Birthday and she did an amazing job! She made the cake and it was delicious along with being absolutely adorable.  She always does a good job!  We had it outside since the weather was nice and the kids had a blast!  They had just done some work in the yard so one big section was nothing but dirt!  The little ones had a good ol' time digging and playing!  After the cake and presents, we hid gold coins for the kids to find!  Boy, was that fun!  Kids were running all over the place looking for the 200+  coins I think we hid!  It was a really fun day and it is always fun when we get the cousins together!

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY SAMUEL!  WE LOVE YOU!



The big 5 year old! 

His cake!  A pirate on a deserted island!



Fun girls! 

I absolutely love this picture of my nephew James!  He looks like a grown man holding his cup and his hand, you women know that all men stand like this!

Most of the men in my life!  I love them all to pieces!  That's my dad in the green, then Jody and Brailyn, my grandaddy, and my brother!



Getting good and dirty!



The girls playing a little ball!



Swingin' with cousin Anna!



We met Andy, Jennifer, and Madi in Arkadelphia to celebrate Mrs. Donita's birthday.  We ate at Western Sizzlin and it was delicious. Unfortunately this was the night ti stormed pretty bad.  We ended up rushing through dinner and drove as fast as we could to Henderson. We went to the basement in Andy's building to ride out the storm.  The girls had a blast running and playing!  The lights ended up going out, but it didn't phase the girls at all. In fact, they started playing and having more fun than when the lights were on.  They are really getting in a stage where they are beginning to play more together and it is so fun and exciting to watch!  i know they will be best buds!  So it wasn't the best birthday celebration ever, but we sure had fun and it will be one of the most memorable!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEENA!  WE LOVE YOU TOO!

18 Months and It's Time to Stop Counting!



Our beautiful 18 month old "baby" girl!  May 7, 2011

My precious tiny baby girl turned 18 months old on May 7th!  I think it is about time for time to stand still!  I say this every time, but I can't believe how fast time has flown!  It seems like yesterday we brought her home and just sat and stared at her all day, and slept every chance we got! HA!  Now we run around all day chasing her, reading to her, and falling in bed at the end of the night from pure exhaustion!  We are loving this age though!  Each day is a new adventure.  She seems to learn new words every second!  It is  simply amazing!  Just yesterday I was putting the rug back down after mopping.  She loves to help me roll it back out.  She ran to it, got down on her hands and knees and started helping.  I started saying "Roll it, Roll it!"  Then she pushed and and started saying, "Row-wit!"  She is just so sweet, and so full of energy and the best little personality!  She loves to hug and kiss now and say "Oh ma-ma!" or "Oh, daddy!"  Her favorite thing to say right now is "Where______ go?"  She fills in the blank with whatever she needs or hides!  I here this question constantly!  "Where  daddy go?",  "Where dog go?"  And repeating the question is not good enough, she needs an answer!  I absolutely do not mind answering though!  I love being able to have little conversations with my baby!  Here are a few other things she is up to now:

• At her 18 month check up she was 26 13.5 lbs(85%) and was 31 1/4 in.(40%) long.
• One of our biggest accomplishments since being 18 months is that we are PACI FREE!  We tried for about 2 weeks before she turned 18 mos. She was not having it, so during those weeks, she only got it at nap time and bed time.  Then one night I decided to just not give it to her, and she went right to sleep and hasn't had it since!  She goes to sleep with her bear.  She actually calls it her "bear-pac" now!  She will chew on it for a little bit and then go to sleep.
• She knows the colors: orange, red, blue, pink, and sometimes purple!  When you first ask her what color something is, her immediate answer is pink!  I think she sees a lot of pink!  Then, we ask her again and she gives the right color.
• She likes to sit on the "pot-ty!"  She started showing interest so I bought her the potty seat that just sits on top of toilet.  She loves it!  She backs up to it and say "pee-pee."  We have yet to do anything yet, but she likes to sit there!  When she gets down she says "bye-bye, pot-ty!"  The other night I was in there and she came in, then went to find her daddy in the living and said "Mommy pot-ty!"  I'm just waiting on that one to come out while in public!
• She knows most if not all of her body parts!
• She will eat everything under the sun, but her favorite thing is fruit!  She loves fresh fruit and will eat anything you give her!
• She has mastered the art of climbing.  Oh joy!
• She names nearly everybody in our family, and has started remembering people's names at church!
• She makes all of her animal sounds, and has started naming most of them now. 
• She still loves her "Dot dog" and Minnie!  She knows all the characters by name, but still calls Mickey "Dot dog!"  I never want her to stop!
• Instead of just naming things like chairs and shoes, she now says "Daddy's chair" or "mommy's shoes!"  She knows what belongs to each of us!  If she is naming of body parts on her toys, she will say "bunny's ears" or "bunny's eyes!"  Whatever she is pointing at!

So I said a few more things! HA  She does everything she is supposed to be doing right now.  I won't post it all!  She keeps us laughing and on our toes constantly!  We are absolutely loving this age!  Although we may want to keep her like this forever, we also can't wait to see what the other ages bring!  Right now though, we are savoring every day!  We love you sweet baby girl!  You are our pride and joy!


At her check-up!  May 9, 2011!  This is the best pick I got!  I asked her to look at mommy and she looked up and said "Cheese!"  She's a mess!



"I don't want to look right now mom!"



Easter 2011

We had a wonderful Easter!  We got to spend time with family, watch Brailyn thoroughly enjoy hunting Easter eggs, and most importantly, we got to celebrate our Risen Lord!  Brailyn was a little young this year to understand the real reason we celebrate Easter, but I plan on starting traditions with her next year to teach her and help her understand Easter.  I plan to but resurrection eggs and do the Easter cookies with her.  I can't wait!  I think they are great tools for helping children understand!  I don't think any of us, no matter how old, can fully grasp what happened on that glorious day, but we learn to accept it with faith, and an abundance of gratefulness!  I hope to help instill that in Brailyn over the years! 

 Anyway, we always have a busy, busy Easter Sunday!  It works out perfectly though.  Since our church does Sonrise service, and then worship service at 8:30, we get to make it to my family's Easter lunch.  My mom's side of the family has gotten together since before I was born.  This is basically like a family reunion, and this is about the only time I get to see that side every year.  We eat a wonderful lunch, and then the big kids hide eggs for the little ones.  I remember growing up and moving into the different stages, and now I get to watch Brailyn do it!  We have a lot of fun, and I just love it!  It makes for a long tiring day, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!  So here is our Easter in pictures!  I know most would rather see those than read my ramblings anyway!  :)



Me, Brailym, Cathy, and Hannah at the church's Easter egg hunt!  Brailyn loves "baby anna!"



That's a big group of kids to hide eggs for, and I think they had plenty and then some!





Heading out to find some eggs!  The little ones had their own closed off area to hunt in!



Such a big girl!



I did most of the hunting, but she did all of the picking up and putting them in the basket!  She caught on fast! She had a ball!



The Easter bunny came!  I think he left a little to much stuff! Hehe



Poor baby had to get up at 6:30!  She was still ready to check out what she got!



Her favorite by far!  She looks a little rough in this one, but she had been up for about 3 minutes maybe!  Just enough for me to get her dressed!



She passed out on the way to Woodlawn!  She slept the entire hour and 45 minutes!  When we got to my Aunt's house, Brailyn woke up when we pulled in her driveway.  The driveway is long and lined by trees.  Brailyn woke up and said "Whoa!"  HA!



Hunting again!



We go to great lengths to find the eggs!



My family!  My sister and her family on the left side, mom and dad, in the middle, us, then my brother and his family on the right! 

Happy Easter Everyone!

First Family Vacation!

 Well sort of!  Jody had to go to Russellville to Farm Credit's central office to work for a couple of days so we decided to go with him!  Brailyn and I stayed in the hotel both days and that was interesting!  Trying to keep an 18 month old in one room is hard work!  We read books, played with play-doh, watched TV , and swam some!  I was really nervous about how she was going to sleep.  We took the play pen and I draped blankets on all the sides to help block out some of the light and noise.  She usually sleeps fine in there so that was okay.  What really made me nervous was how I was going to get her to sleep!  No rocking chair!  The first night she did amazing!  I stood up and bounced her and she was asleep within 10 minutes!  Jody and I went to bed with her so I got about 10 and a half hours of sleep that night!  Refreshing!  Nap time the next day was a breeze!  Do you feel a pattern?  Well, it ended there!  I stood up and bounced her for over an hour the next night!  All in all, it went pretty well!  She never got fussy in the room at all!  We had a good time for our first little vacation!


Playing on the bed when we first arrived!  She became a ball of energy when we got there!



Ready to go swimming!



Her sleeping quarters!



Swimming with daddy!





Relaxing watching a little TV!





My precious girl!  She was tired!



Weee!  Having fun at the park!



Big girl swing!



Fixing to slide!



Playing in the tunnel!



Sliding with daddy!



Just Call Her "Little Monet"

Beautiful isn't it!  My baby's first masterpiece!  The picture isn't to great, but it's all in the bottom right hand corner!  The crayons were really skinny, so it was really hard for her to hold them and press down.  I think I'm going to buy her some fatter ones and let her go!  Mommy will always KNOW that her art is the most amazing in the world!

Brailyn's First Love!

Her daddy probably just fainted when he read the title! HA  No, it's not a little boy!  It's "Dot Dog" and everyone of his friends, especially Minnie!  I guess I should say her first favorite TV show, because we all know that Mommy and Daddy are her first loves!  However, if you know us at all, you know that Brailyn loves her Mickey Mouse, aka "Dot Dog," and all his friends!  I have proof!

Wiping Minnie's nose!  She has started taking care of her toys!  It is the sweetest thing!  She will wipe their noses or cover them with a blanket!  She has just started being the sweetest little mothering baby!



Minnie pjs!  You will notice throughout these pictures and video she has about 3 different Minnie pjs!  She has 1 more that is short sleeved and I may be crazy but she has never slept well in those so we don't wear them anymore!  Also, notice the 1 shoe and the sock on her hand!  She brought both things to me to put on her and wore them for about 30 minutes!



"Cheese!"  Notice the pjs!



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Along with wiping noses and covering with blankets, she has started diapering and dressing them!  In fact I had to undress her big Minnie last night because I needed the top for Brailyn's pjs!  She still has on her diaper though!



Loving on Minnie after breakfast!  Minnie had to eat breakfast right beside her!



In the video, there is a part where I thought Brailyn said "There he is!"  which she says for everything we ask her, but she actually says "Cheese!"  Trust me you will know what I'm talking about!  She is so funny when she watches, because she knows the order in which they show up, and she names them all and tells them "Hi!"  She is my sweetheart!





Fun Entertainment!

This is how we stay entertained in the car!  I think Brailyn was entertaining us more than we were her!  We repeated this sequence about 3 or more times!  So proud of our sweet baby girl!  I feel like she is at a stage now where she is just soaking up knowledge!  She repeats and remembers nearly every word we tell  her!  Here is my baby showing of her skills! :)

We recorded that in the car on the way to Hot Springs last night.  Jennifer had a pass to shop early at the Rhea Lana's sale, so the guys kept the girls and us mommas went and shopped!  It was a lot of fun, and we found some great deals!  The guys said that the girls had fun too!  I'm really glad Jennifer invited me to go with her!

Hanging out with Daddy/Uncle Jo-Jo!