Ann Evelyn's Date with Daddy

Wilson took Ann Evelyn on a date tonight. She was so excited and chose pizza and ice cream for dinner on her night out with Daddy. I asked him to send me a picture of the two of then while they were out... I think they had fun!! I Am looking forward to hearing about it! The boys, Sarah Elizabeth and I stayed home and made our own pizza. :) Andrew helped me while Forrest sat at the table and drew pictures in his 'book'. Then he dictated a story for me to write to go with it. Then Andrew and I practiced with short vowel words. He has been sounding out words for a while, but it is fun to see his excitement as he really knows he is reading! It was a good night!

9 months

Sarah elizabeth is such a blessing. She has been a busy girl. She began crawling at 8 months and by 9 months was pulling up in her crib and on other furniture. Now at 9 months she is a fast crawler... Making laps thru the house and beelining to her brothers bedroom when she has a chance. (It stays off limits to her most days due to the hundreds of little Legos all over the floor!). She began waving and clapping at 8 months and she is really starting to "talk". She had been staying pretty quiet but I think she's decided to let her voice be heard in this house! She says "mama" "dada" and "bye bye". We have transitioned to eating only table food. She really likes everything she has tried! She is also starting to drink whole milk from a cup which she likes also! At her 9 month check-up she was 75% in weight and 50% in height... our smallest baby. In the past month she has had 4 teeth come in. Teething has definitely bothered her bringing with them a runny nose, drooling, and waking up at night. She is well loved... Hugs and kisses are lavished upon her throughout the day from her sister and brothers... And mama and dada ,too, of course. Oh and she loves her daddy!! And he loves her more!! What a sweetheart!

Baby in a bonnet

I love a baby in a bonnet.  They are just so sweet and old-fashioned.  May-May gave this sweet bonnet to Sarah Elizabeth and I enjoyed capturing some precious facial expressions.  These were taken September 23, 2012.  The day after she was 6 months old.

Sarah Elizabeth at 6 months

I am going to do my best to get back to blogging.  It is a special way to remember my sweet family.  I may do some backtracking as I attempt to go back thru some pics from the last few months.

These are pictures from Sarah Elizabeth's 6 month birthday.  She is so precious to us.  

 At 6 months she was sitting up well and enjoyed being on a blanket with her toys.  

 She had begun to stick (almost point) her tongue to the side and up as you can see from the picture.  It was very unique to her! 

  She loved (and still does!) being with her family... and her family loves being with her! 

She had been sleeping well thru the night but a couple of weeks before 6 months she began to wake up some... she was hungry! So...

We also began foods!  

 She loved it and was a great eater from the get-go!  Her first food was oatmeal cereal, her first fruit was pears and her first veggie was peas.  

 Big sister was probably just as excited about Sarah Elizabeth eating... the big kids are always curious what is in her bowl!

Yum!

A few more recent photos

I am posting from my phone tonight and wanted to add a few more from Halloween. I sure love these kiddos!

Busy Girl

Sarah Elizabeth is having a big week! She has begun to crawl (army style), has learned to move into a sitting position from her tummy and is starting to pull up on her knees. Also, 2 bottom teeth are breaking thru. Our sweet baby girl is growing!

She is so proud of all of her accomplishments and has been smiling and "talking" a lot! ;)

Best Patient Ever :)

Our sweet boy had a tonsillectomy and sinus surgery last Friday. Poor guy had chronic sinusitis for about 6 months. Here are a few pics from the day of his surgery and then one during his recovery. He has been such a trooper, hardly complaining at all. He really is the best patient!

Donuts with Dad

Last Friday was Donuts with Dad for the kindergarteners.  I helped with the morning and was so glad that I did.  It was such a sweet morning and just precious to see how excited the boys and girls were to have their daddies at school with them. :)

The children made "ties" for their dads to wear... really cute!  The class sang some songs (how fun that Andrew's teacher plays the piano and sings with them daily in the classroom!) and performed the nursery rhymes that they have memorized.

 After the singing, the children got to greet their daddies with a hug.

 And then they got ready for the "color song"!  The dads even participated!

 Here is a picture of most of the little boys and their daddies.  You can just see the excitement on their faces!

 Andrew is showing Wilson his nursery rhyme book.  The children worked so hard on these books and presented them to their dads on Friday.

 While the dads and children were waiting for their turn for breakfast, Mrs. Valentine read stories about dads.  It was cute to see them all gathered around listening to the stories.

Andrew and Daddy even let Mommy sneak in for a picture.  Such a special day!

Cutie Pie

My sweet baby girl... LOVE her so!!

Happy Camper!

My big boy is at day camp this week! It's his first time to go and he has loved it! The pool and the waterfront are his favorite activities, but yesterday he rode the zip line on the ropes course. He said he loved that, too. We are so proud of him for going to camp and for trying new things! This is a picture from the camp website of Andrew climbing the 30' rock wall. Way to go, Buddy! We love you!

10 years!

Yesterday Wilson and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. It's been 10 years full of growth and love and blessings. I am so thankful to have a husband who loves the Lord and his family, who seeks to honor the Lord and serve his wife and children, who is honest and hard-working...and so much more! We are sinners and life isn't always easy, but we serve a most gracious, merciful God. We are so blessed... And I am thankful! I can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring!

I love you, dear!

A fun lunch!

Sarah Elizabeth and I met Wilson for lunch today. What a treat to enjoy lunch with my husband and baby girl!

A little summer fun...

I decided to try out the blogger phone app. I seem to sit at the computer less and less often these days, and I always have my phone with me. Plus, I take a good many pics with my phone. So it seems like this may be a good option for blogging for now. :). I am just hoping the pics I want to post are going to appear!

We had a great time playing in the water hose yesterday morning. We played with water balloons, built a "beaver dam", washed the car... Then we followed the fun with a popsicle. Sweet baby sister napped in the garage during the fun. We are loving summer!

a few from lately

Here are a few pictures of my favorite little kiddos!  

These 2 really love playing together - and dressing up is one of their favorite things to do.

She has become a wonderful little helper in the kitchen... actually they all are!

Andrew is being silly with his pretzels.

Swinging in this beautiful spring weather is always a favorite.

                        

They have been picking flowers and "getting married" - too cute!  And a little limbo!