A day in the life of a two year old...

Has anyone else experienced this???? You know what I mean then! This too shall pass! I hope! :)

A trip to the Picture People!

more of our visit with Ian, Vonda, & Ella Rose

I know! It's a lot of pictures but I don't know how to narrow things down! So you'll just have to look at them all! :)

Jackson & Ella Rose

This morning, Jackson and I entertained Ella Rose while her Mama and Daddy were getting things ready to leave.

Uncle Anthony saying goodbye!

We spent some time with Harrison this morning so he could give a proper goodbye to little Ella Rose. These boys are REALLY going to miss her! They have had a blast having her here and actually we ALL are going to miss having her around and being able to see her grow up! She is going to be so big by the next time we see her, I can't even think about it! It gives me a headache and makes me want to cry!


Jackson played peek-a-boo with Ella Rose at lunch on Monday. We went to Seaboard Cafe, one of Vonda's favorite places here in Raleigh and it was a lot of fun. Jackson told us he was going to go and "hide" and then went and put his face in that pot. We got a big laugh out of that one, he is such a ham! :)

Ian & Ella Rose

Harrison loved holding Ella Rose!

Here is the dress that Harrison and Jackson sent Ella Rose when she was born! We were so glad to see her model it for us and show it off at church on Sunday! She was quite adorable wearing that pink dress! :)


The boys loved being part of bath time and Ella Rose enjoyed them helping with her lotion. Clean babies are one of my favorite smells and boy did she smell good!

Eating time was sometimes hard for Ella Rose because there is so much to look at in a house of boys. They loved watching her and even distracting her! :) "It's time to eat! Eat what a treat? Eat, Eat!" You'll have to ask Vonda to sing that song for you, it's Ian's absolute favorite! (actually he's a bit tired of hearing it! :))

The microphone was a big hit for Ella Rose, she's going to be a singer for sure!



We celebrated an early Thanksgiving Dinner with everyone (mom has all the good pictures of dinner so I'll have to get some from her to post). Mimi & Papa's tradition at Thanksgiving is to present some Stocking Gifts to get everybody in the mood and excited about Christmas. So, we had fun opening a few presents. Vonda and Ian decided to bring their gifts for the boys so they could see their expressions being as we won't be together at Christmas again this year. They brought them their own Flight Jackets just like their Uncle Ian and they looked adorable in them! AND, they brought them a Nativity set from Poland that is very hands on and kid friendly! We were very excited! Thank you Vonda and Ian for the GREAT gifts!

Jackson and Ella Rose

Harrison & Ella Rose

kiss, kiss, kiss!!!

Harrison has been saving rocks for his Aunt Vonda's birthday since we moved to Raleigh, NC. She was so gracious to accept his bag of rocks for her birthday that we celebrated while they were here. He was so excited! :)

Jackson and his new best bud, Uncle Ian!

We were able to make it to the pool once while there were here, but it was SO cold! The water was like ice and that is why Harrison is no where to be found. He wouldn't get in no matter how hard we tried! Ella Rose is quite the little swimmer, so talented! :)

We had so much fun visiting with Aunt Vonda, Uncle Ian, and Ella Rose! We already can't wait for the next time!

Proof they were here!

Jackson and I ran out to meet his new cousin who he had never met before!

It was love at first sight, can you tell???

How I have wanted to get my hands on this baby girl!

Vonda, Ella Rose, Mimi, & I all went to pick up Harrison from school. He was beaming from ear to ear when he realized who all was in the car waiting for him. Jackson stayed home with Uncle Ian. As soon as they arrived, Jackson didn't want to leave his side. He was Ian's new best friend and he wanted to be with him at all times!

Loving on Ella Rose before we headed to Moe's for dinner, one of Ian's favorites! :)

car situation...

well, my car is in the shop. a light came on after our stop at target, it started acting weird and we headed straight home. a neighbor followed me to the dealership, hopefully it will be something still under warranty! maybe??? :) aren't HONDA's supposed to be perfect??? :) i was SO disappointed because we had to miss AWANA! Harrison was so excited to recite his motto and his sparks verse. i just didn't want to get stranded out with the kids and a broken car so i know it was the best choice, just disappointed! hopefully we'll hear some news soon, they are open until midnight! can you believe that? extended hours...pretty nice, for us, maybe not so nice for those with that shift.

OH, and only one more sleep until our company arrives. i can't wait to see them! you know how you wait and wait in anticipation for an event and then it arrives and flies by so quick that you can hardly remember it happened and it's all over?? i hope it's not like that...i hope we can savor the time together because i don't know when we'll see them again. can't wait to squeeze that baby girl, in a good way! :)

my little stinker...

Jackson had a FIRST and I hope it will be the LAST...

Running to catch him after he was set loose from Sunday School....

Two teenage girls walking in front of him...

He flips their skirts up!

What in the world??? What kind of problem is this??? It better NOT happen again! ahhhh!!!

almost over...

Well, it's been a LONG week! Anthony's been gone most of it and I'm ready for him to be home. I'm looking forward to a weekend together as a family!! It's been a good week, it just always feels SO LONG when he's out of the picture!!! I was able to spend two days this week visiting with ladies from our Life Class. I am so thankful that they have all be so welcoming to me, the newcomer, and look forward to getting to know them better. Harrison started Kidz Praise on Sunday night, which is like Children's Choir, and started AWANA on Wednesday night. It's so great to have found a church with such good programming for the kids. We can use all the help we can get to keep Jesus his focus!! He's already making friends and remembering people from all of his classes. Jackson's been quite the screamer this week, still working on using those words! So, needless to say, I'm thankful he's peacefully in bed and the house is calm and quiet. Looking forward to our company next week.... Should be lots of fun. We're celebrating an early Thanksgiving with Uncle Ian, Aunt Vonda, & Ella Rose, and Mimi & Papa. I know we'll all have a great time together. We haven't spent a Holiday together since the Thanksgiving before they left...TOO LONG!!! Off to spend some quality time with Harrison before he heads to bed and hopefully Anthony won't be too late tonight. :)

1st Parent/Teacher Conference

We had our first Parent/Teacher Conference with Harrison's Kindergarten Teacher today! I was able to get a picture of him at his desk so I was happy about that! :) He's doing SO well! Mrs. Lee said that he is a complete joy to have in class! I'm sure I was beaming from ear to ear. I even chuckled and said I know we think so but I'm glad you feel that way too! :) He's doing great and in the top of his class! I completely feel like I'm bragging and it's not meant to be that way at all, I'm just proud of my boy and happy that he's doing well in school. She said he's a good helper, good friend, and a delight. She loves all of his stories and if you know Harrison you know how well he loves to fill you in on things that are going on. I'm sure he'll be telling a little too much before it's all over! :) I got my first "task" as a helper in his class. I got to cut out some items for his teacher tonight. It reminded me of all of those bulletin boards during student teaching! :) I was happy to assist! So, that's the latest and it looks like he's off to a GREAT start!

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In flight, right NOW!

Uncle Ian, Aunt Vonda, and cousin Ella Rose are on a plane right now headed to the Good Ole USA! They will be arriving in Dallas, TX sometime late afternoon! We can't wait to get the call that they have arrived! Only 9 more sleeps until we see them....yippee! :)

Artisic Inspiration!

We decided to have a painting day! Our friends The Mann's posted beautiful masterpieces that their boys painted. She mentioned they are going to hang them in their play room. I thought that was a fabulous idea and told Natalie that I was going to copy them! I've been trying to think of ways to decorate our playroom and this is the best idea I have heard of yet! I picked up the canvas' today and they were so excited to get started! They had a blast and I can't wait to hang up their new masterpieces! Harrison painted a picture about Lady and the Tramp, of course, and Jackson just painted whatever the heck he wanted! :) It was loads of fun and I can't wait to do it again!

The finished product! I LOVE them! :)