A Little Obsession

I don't know if I have ever known a child that loved princesses more than Anna Lee. She is truly obsessed...in every sense of the word. She would be so happy if she could actually be a Disney princess herself. Several months back, some of our friends at church, the Stevens, were cleaning out their little girls' closets. They were so sweet and brought Anna Lee a bunch of toys that they weren't using anymore. Included in this set of toys was a set of Barbie-type dolls, all dressed as the Disney princesses. Anna Lee has had the MOST fun with them! After a few weeks, I started taking pictures of the princesses around our house. I find them in the funniest places! They travel as a group, and they are always set up in a way that they are participating in some sort of activity. It has made us laugh so hard. So here is a collection of the princesses' "trips" around the house...

A donut picnic

(Please excuse the immodesty of some of the princesses...I haven't figured out yet why some of them were not fully clothed here)

Taking a nap/Having a snack in the highchair....they had a hard time all fitting.

Looks quite uncomfortable.

Listening to a story from Anna Lee...a princess story (about themselves)

Apparently taking a nap under the dresser. Maybe it was too bright in her room.

Taking a nap in Anna Lee's bed.

Notice the doll that got the extra little pillow. It is Sleeping Beauty. She is Anna Lee's favorite.

In time out. Not sure what they did (as a group) to get put here.

Playing in Anna Lee's house.

Ariel is accompanying J.D. in the kitchen....with a plate of pretend food....

just in case J.D. (or Ariel) got hungry.

Eating dinner at the table with us. They provided riveting conversation.

So there you have it. The princesses' travels around our house.

Who knows where we will find them next. I'm just hoping they never need to use the bathroom...

Good Ole San Antone

A couple of weeks ago, we went to San Antonio for Anna Lee to go to VBS at Oak Hills. They had a special week for the 2 and 3 year olds, and Anna Lee loved it! Thank you Mrs. Selma and Mrs. Sarah for all of your hard work!

We had a great time while we were there, and both of the kids got plenty of lovin' from Mom-Mom and Grandad.

(Notice the princess crown and high heels...always.)

All Grown Up

Well, it was about time....Anna Lee finally got her first haircut. It made me a little sad and happy all at the same time. Sad that she is truly no longer a baby, and happy that she finally has enough hair to need a cut! Most kids get their haircut for the first time before they are a year old. Not our sweet Anna Lee. At a year, her hair looked like this: Not much to work with.

So after 2 and a half years, the time had finally come to visit the beauty shop. We spent a lot of time that morning (notice the crazy morning hair) talking about how the lady at the shop was going to cut her hair, but she was the ONLY one allowed to cut her hair with scissors. Since this was a new experience for a 2 year old, I could only imagine the excitement she would have had "re-creating" the event at home.



Anna Lee did a great job, and loved that they let her watch a Disney movie during it. Here are a few pictures.

What a Week!

Last week was so crazy! Like all of the weeks since J.D. was born, we were busy, busy, busy. To begin, J.D. had his Baby Dedication at church. It was so sweet and special. Jim's parents and my parents came in for the occasion, and it was special to have our families there with us. Our preacher, John, said some really sweet words over J.D. and our family, and then one of our favorite people, Brant, said a wonderful prayer of blessing over him. We are so thankful for our church home, and for the people we have in our life who want to help us raise our kids to love God.

It was neat to get to have J.D.'s Baby Dedication/Blessing on Father's Day. We had a fun lunch with our families, and Anna Lee got to give her presents to her Pops and Grandad. We ended up not getting picture of Grandad's homemade stepping stone, but she was very proud of it and the hat she gave Pops.

I can't talk about Father's Day without saying a few words about Jim. (He got his presents later in the week.) He is absolutely, 100% the most wonderful daddy I can imagine. He does so much to love on and take care of all of us. We couldn't ask for a better Daddy around here!

Some father/son bonding while watching sports...

Five minutes later...

After the weekend of family, we loaded up and headed to Waco. We spend a few days there with Jim's parents and sister, and all four of Anna Lee's cousins. It was a zoo...but a really fun zoo! We did a lot of swimming, eating, playing, and movie watching. The kids even went to VBS together in the evenings.

After we got home from Waco, we unloaded, washed clothes, and then headed out again for my grandmother's family reunion in Abilene. It was my grandmother's first time to get to meet J.D.

It was really fun to get to be with my cousin Catherine and Aunt Donna too. They were so sweet and loved on our kids all weekend.

Kasey's boyfriend, Justin, came to the reunion with us too. We love that guy!

So we are finally at home...for a few days at least. It is good to be home and everyone agrees...even our happy baby!

Sweet Relief

As I have said in previous posts, J.D. has been as fussy as you can possibly imagine. He has been quite the screamer. Anytime he was not asleep, he was crying...hard. We have been to numerous doctor's appointments trying to figure out what to do. This past week, after a teary phonecall to the doctor's office again, my doctor suggested that J.D. may be allergic to dairy. So, since I am still nursing him, I have been on a strict no-dairy diet. She also put him on an additional medicine to help with his reflux. Within 24 hours, J.D. was a completely different baby. I feel like I got to see what he actually looked like for the first time...without his eyes closed from screaming or sleeping. It has been such a better week!

We are still going to do some investigating to see if it was the new medicine or the lack of dairy. From what we can tell, it was a combination of the two. People who have spent time with us the past 2 months have been amazed at the difference. Last night, we went out to dinner (at a restaurant!) with friends, and J.D. sat in his carrier happily until he fell asleep. It was so wonderful! Our friends were shocked...since last week, they had to endure Life Group with J.D. screaming his head off. (Sorry, ya'll. Thank you for being such great friends!)

So I am thankful for a much more peaceful house. I kind of miss sour cream, ice cream, cheese, ranch, milk....(it is amazing how much stuff has dairy in it!)....but the reward is so much greater!

Life in the Fast Lane

I feel like this post could have a lot of different titles...Life in the Fast Lane, No Rest for the Weary, I am so Tired...the list could go on. We have laughed lately thinking about the difference between Anna Lee's schedule as a newborn and J.D.'s. When Anna Lee was born, we didn't really even take her out of the house for six weeks. J.D. is a completely different story. The little guy has been on three trips so far, and had company come to stay with him for a weekend. And our summer is just beginning! Our summer has started off with a bang, and there is so much more fun to come! Hopefully it will come with just a little more sleep!

Life at our house has been a bit crazy. Poor J.D. is a fussy, fussy fellow. He sure does have a set of lungs- and he likes to use them! (I tell myself it is just because he is going to be an amazing singer someday.) Besides having a good amount of reflux, J.D. does NOT like to be awake and not being held. He is happy to let you know it, too. It isn't too bad when Jim and I take turns in the evening, but trying to take care of a 2 year old and a screaming baby all day wears you out! But he sure is cute! Anna Lee takes J.D.'s crying way better than I do. She never really seems bothered by it. I have been so thankful for her patience lately..and for the ways she has made me laugh.

Yesterday was a rough day. J.D. was really never settled down all day. Anna Lee and I finally had a moment where we were sitting and playing a game while I held J.D. to keep him calm. Anna Lee was moving something over and fell on her bottom. She cried a little and started to get up. I looked the other way and when I turned back, she had pulled up her dress and was bent over, holding her rear end up to my face...I mean just inches away. And she was saying, "Kiss it. Kiss it." All I could do was bust out laughing. I was holding a baby who had been screaming all morning (including our whole trip to Target), and my 2 year old wanted me to kiss her rear end....literally. Oh how life has changed.

So last week, we loaded up the car and headed down to Mom-Mom and Grandad's house in San Antonio. I wasn't able to travel for a good amount of my pregnancy, so it was so fun to get to go "home" again. We had so much fun! Anna Lee and J.D. both got lots of attention and love, and I got a bit of needed rest. Jim and I even got to go out to dinner for my 30th birthday one night. We spent our time there seeing friends, swimming, eating, and playing.

This picture was so sweet. Anna Lee in a pair of my mom's old high heels, without her pants, helping to give J.D. his paci.

My dad used to do this with Anna Lee when she was little too. I always think it is so funny to go in and find my tiny baby asleep in a heap of pillows on the big bed. J.D. seemed to enjoy it!

Anna Lee got to help my mom lead praise songs on Sunday morning with the 1st and 2nd graders at church. I think Anna Lee and my mom equally enjoyed it...for different reasons. Look carefully and you can see her up there lifting her hands up.

At one point while we were in San Antonio, we went and visited my friend Amy and her crew. Amy and I were best buds growing up, and spent hundreds of nights at each others houses. We used to put on musical shows for our parents, and always had so much fun together. It was fun to get to see our little girls (and boys) together now.

Some sweet friends from church had a luncheon for J.D. on my birthday while we were there. It was so fun and special. There were so many ladies there to celebrate J.D.'s arrival with us. It was special to me to get to celebrate with so many wonderful women who have loved me and cared for me so long...and now love my children. Thanks, Kendra and Lauren, for such a wonderful day!

As fun as the luncheon was, this is how J.D. spent the majority of it. Typical these days. But the party went on anyway!

My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Miner, also came to the party. It was so fun to get to see her! Our family has kept up with her over the years, and it was so special to me to get to see her with my kids. Amazing that she taught me when I was close to Anna Lee's age. Oh how I wish she could teach Anna Lee! She was the greatest!!!

Mrs. Sarah came to the luncheon with gifts for not only J.D. and me, but also for Anna Lee. She could not have gotten Anna Lee anything she would have liked more. See below.

On Sunday, we got to go and visit Ninnie. We love Ninnie so much. She has been like a grandmother to my sisters and me for so long, and now she loves Anna Lee and J.D. too.

On our way back from San Antonio, we got to stop in Waco for lunch and a swim. Our time with GranDee was short but really fun!



Two days after we got home from SA, some of our favorite friends came to see us again! The Maples came from Nashville to get to play and meet J.D. Anna Lee LOVES Riley so much, and they had a fun and crazy time together. Amazing how time changes things. 5 years ago, our time as friends in Nashville was much calmer/quieter/filled with much later nights...We had a ball with them being here.

I had bought a pool for the kids to play in. Too bad it didn't come with a pump! Lots of hard work went into that being ready for swimming- it was a team effort! But the kids seemed to think it was worth it!

Ericka with Sweet Baby Blake

So that is our last crazy couple of weeks in a nutshell. So much fun!