Steady as she goes...

The Adorables have hit a lull. A lovely, lovely lull. It's kind of nice to just go with the flow for a little while! Between the house hunt and the girls both starting school, I think it's safe to say that there was a little stress floating around the household. Now that we've all found our little grooves, the breathing is a little easier.

To the left you see the girls playing in the yard one evening a few weeks ago. They had the best time just chasing each other around, sometimes even daring to go barefoot. :-) We've had some interesting weather the past few days -- last Friday we spent a good part of the day at a friend's pool, and by Sunday I was scrambling to find the girls some long sleeves and TIGHTS! And today, Grace wore a sweater to school but by the end of the day she was very comfortable in her t-shirt and shorts!

Gracie and kindergarten are like peas and carrots. :-) Today she brought home her library book and her Book-It book, and she read her Book-It book to me without any help at all. I will admit that I was a little relieved that she still needed me to read her library book to her! Report cards come out on Thursday, and we have our first parent-teacher conference next week. So far, the only difficulty I've found with kindergarten is figuring out what to pack for her lunch -- she confessed to me this morning that often much of her lunch ends up in the trash. ACK! Although, I helped in her classroom today and then stuck around for lunch, and it was obvious that I'm not the only parent with this issue! Those kids threw out SO MUCH FOOD! So if you have mastered the art of packing a lunch that your kids do not waste, clue me in!

Gracie's favorite activities during the week at school are P.E. and art, and her favorite daily activity is coloring at the literacy center.

Right now the big deal with Rachael is potty training. After the (mostly self-inflicted) fiasco I had with Grace and potty training, I made the very honest statement that I would rather go through labor and delivery with BOTH GIRLS than have another potty training experience like that. But Rachael, of course, is a do-it-yourselfer. Not long after we moved, she initiated the training. She was doing very, very well, but then I think we may have had a setback after everyone got sick (Gracie came down with the flu and Rachael had bronchitis, then all of us -- Grace included -- picked up the bronchitis). Now it's hit or miss -- but I have learned from my mistakes, and I'm not pushing. She's still showing interest and doing it on her own, and I think soon we'll institute a rewards system and that might give her the extra encouragement she needs!

Rachael is still loving school, she loves any and all art that she gets to do, and she is happy to talk about what she did during the day. She talks about her friends and her teacher the rest of the week. I love how much she loves it! We have no problems getting her up and ready on her school days, that's for sure!

Nothing really new under the sun for Mommy and Daddy. :-) Well, Chris just had to do a little traveling for work -- they sent him on a very brief trip to California... first class. I could not even try to hide my jealousy! But truthfully, he works so hard, and I think he's more than earned a little upgrade like that!! They are going to be sending him out a couple more times for longer trips, but it's a good thing -- he learned their new software well and trained those in his department, and they're sending him off to do the same elsewhere! As for me, I've started walking regularly, and soon I am going to attempt running. Please note I said attempt. :-) I am still teaching Sunday school every other week at church (3-year-olds), I work in childcare, and I'm beginning to think that having a house may be bringing out the housewife in me -- and I like it! :-)

Hope you're enjoying some beautiful fall weather where you are!

Christmas '08

In spite of a one-armed man for most of the holiday, as well as two coughing little girls, we managed to have a full Christmas! The picture on the left was taken in the nursery before the early Christmas Eve service. Chris' parents, aunt, and his sister and brother-in-law took Grace in with them while Rachael and I worked the nursery. Don't the girls look adorable in those dresses? They were made with lots of love by Miss Anita, a family friend who has known me since I was in preschool! They are precious dresses, and the girls loved them!

After the early service, the girls went to Grandma and Grandpa's while Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy the 6:00 service. Then we all gathered together to open gifts. Rachael really got into opening the presents, and Grace was incredibly appreciative and enthusiastic about each gift she opened! It was as if every gift was the best! gift! ever!

Grace and Rachael getting some help from Daddy as they open their first gift of the night!

Gracie showing off her new baby doll...

Rachael looking lovingly at hers...

On Sunday, we all went to Lion Country Safari -- it was a lot of fun! We got a van so we could all ride together, and I think the girls were most excited to be in a vehicle without any kind of car seat -- especially Rachael, who didn't want to sit still through most of it! I'll admit that it did make me a little nervous, but thankfully you drive very slowly through their preserve! I don't know if I could've handled going in our own vehicle! The thought of the animals getting this close would've made me nervous!

Those horns!!
This fella was tapping at the window!

The signs at the park say "Rhinos always have the right of way!"
YA THINK?!?

The park also has a few rides that the girls were able to go on. Grace and Rachael both wanted to go on the flying elephants, so Aunt Lisa went with Grace while I went with Rachael. The merry-go-round suited Grace, but Rachael had no interest in it. She did, however, enjoy the ferris wheel! She was looking all around, looking over the edge, she had no fear!! Grace passed on that one, she would barely even look up at us to wave! All in all, it was a lot of fun! It was Grandma's great idea -- I'd never even heard of it until she brought it up, and it was great to go with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Darryl as well! The girls were able to spend a good bit of time with them this time around, and they really had such a good time with both of them!

The Christmas spirit rolled right into Monday, when Grace and Rachael finally got to open their big gift from the grandparents -- a new kitchen! And not just any kitchen, THIS kitchen! (Click on the link, really! Check it out!!) That isn't the kitchen they opened on Christmas Eve. What they opened on Christmas Eve was one I'd settled for when we weren't able to get the one I'd originally wanted. That one was sold out everywhere by the time we went shopping (and somebody -- ::cough::Chris::cough:: -- didn't want to get it when I saw it when we were out together one night, even after the associate told me it was the last one and they weren't getting anymore in), so I settled for one that was nice... but not what I had in mind.

The day after Christmas I went shopping with a friend. She needed to stop at Sam's at the end of our trip, so I tagged along. There amidst the post-Christmas sale items was the Step 2 LifeStyle Grand Walk-In Kitchen. Original Price: $238 and change. Sale price: $99 and change. The kitchen we'd gotten was $97 -- and just didn't compare to the kitchen I was staring at! After drooling over the sale price for a little bit, and after some serious thought as to how the girls' room would have to be rearranged, I called Chris and told him about it, and he said to go ahead and get it. With a LOT of help from my shopping buddy (and her husband, who came to our place with a dolly and straps to get the gigantic box up the stairs!), it was MINE! Well, the girls' really...


So Monday, yet another amazing friend came to assist me with rearranging the girls' room as well as the assembly. The girls spent the rest of the day playing in their kitchen, only stopping for dinner with Lisa and Darryl, then they were back at it! Here's a glimpse:




If you didn't click the link, it even comes with a table and chair set, as well as a small stool! And tons of accessories! It's amazing! The girls were so enthralled with it, Chris and I got a ton of cleaning done without interruption! And did I mention it was originally $238 and I found it on sale for $99??

Hope that everyone had a great Christmas, and we wish you a very Happy New Year!

On My Christmas Vacation...

'Twas three days before Christmas, and all through the house...

At the end of last week -- the day Chris had his surgery, actually -- Rachael spiked a pretty decent fever of 103.5. The next day, it reached 104.8 -- which is .2 degrees away from a trip to the hospital. Thankfully, we have an amazing pediatrician and he did a thorough exam and the culprit appeared to be a very minor ear infection. Her body must've just been fighting hard! She very unhappily received a shot, and woke up the next morning a completely different little girl! Unfortunately, that same morning Grace woke up with a slight fever.

On Sunday morning, Chris was still a little out of it (which is understandable considering all of the medication he still has in his system) and the girls were both a little off (Grace developed a persistent cough), so we didn't make it to church in the morning. And this morning, the above pictures were taken. Neither girl has had a fever, but they were both just a little pooped.

Good thing it's Christmas break! We're praying that both girls are back to themselves quickly so they can enjoy the holiday, especially since they haven't seen Aunt Lisa and Uncle Darryl since last October!

As for Chris, he was able to go into work and is set up with physical therapy twice this week and two times next week. The first visit they day after surgery went very well, and the therapist was very encouraged with how well he was already doing! Yay!

Here's a quick picture of Nurse Rachael feeding Daddy some Fruity Cheerios yesterday:

Hopefully we'll have some much happier pictures to share in a few days! Until then...

We wish all of our family and friends a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

December = Busy!

Last weekend wasn't busy enough for us. This past weekend, Grace and Rachael got to go to a "Night Out" at the church while Chris and I met up with some friends from our Sunday school class to buy gifts for our "adopted" family. (Each Christmas, Sunday school classes at the church help a family in need with Christmas gifts for the kids.) Saturday, we went to a little friend's first birthday party in the morning, then came home to eat lunch, rest, and then the girls headed to Grandma and Grandpa's so Mommy and Daddy could go to their Sunday school class Christmas party -- we had to get there early to set up and we knew we'd be there later to break down, so it was wonderful to know that we could relax and take our time! (Thanks to Brian for the following pictures!)

Grace at the birthday party, wearing her little ladybug hat, in honor of the birthday girl!

Rachael, apparently doing her best Elvis impersonation...

Mommy & Daddy at the Christmas Party!

Then on Sunday, we came home from church, got changed, and left for Sea World. We wanted to go see all their Christmas lights and do the whole Polar Express Experience and we needed to do it before Chris' shoulder surgery (this Thursday), so yesterday it was. Grace was so excited that we were staying at Sea World until dark! The girls got to meet Santa Claus, and this was Rachael's first experience with him -- at first she was a little shy, but she ended up giving him a high-five on our way out!

This is Rachael checking out the steel drums as we went into the kids' area. She would hit them a couple of times, and then inspect the sticks to see if she could figure out how they were working! :-)


Daddy caught this next one as we were waiting in line for Jazzy Jellies -- it's one of those rides where you can make the car spin around as it goes up in the air. Rachael looks a little intimidated, doesn't she? I was surprised at her hesitancy considering she's been on it before. Once on the ride, though, Rachael was totally relaxed -- even looking out over the top to see below us! Grace loves the rides, too, but she seems to get a little more anxious about the heights! I think Rachael will be the one going with me on roller coasters!

Me and the girls waiting for the snow to start.

Daddy with Gracie and only Gracie, because Rachael wouldn't get out of my lap!
The closest these girls will come to snow for a while!!
Rachael wasn't fooled -- as soon as it started coming down she yelled, "Bubbles!"

Please keep Chris in your prayers this Thursday! We are praying that what they find is easy to fix and that he'll be out of the sling in about a week! That would be a great Christmas present!!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thank God it's over!

Okay, maybe that's extreme. Maybe.

This is Rachael the night before Thanksgiving. We were waiting in the car while Daddy and Grace went to get some things for dinner with everyone at Nana's. That is probably the last smile we had from her all weekend. I wish I was kidding. In her defense, it ended up that she was sick with croup. She missed church today for the second week in a row. As did Daddy, since he stayed home with her!

Here is Grace, helping me mix the ingredients for our apple pie! She was in the kitchen watching as I sliced the apples, and she was so interested. I'm not going to lie to you, my first instinct was to say, "Mommy's busy" and have her occupy herself elsewhere, but I quickly realized that my child was interested in something I was doing in the kitchen and I probably shouldn't squelch that! So I pulled a chair in next to me and she watched as I measured the ingredients and put them in a bowl, then I let her stir them up. She was happy to help! I don't know if she actually tried any of the apple pie on Thanksgiving though. I did, and I thought it was great! As were the mashed potatoes that Chris made -- YUMMY!! Everything, as usual, was phenomenal.

Here is Veronica. The last time we saw her, she looked like this. She has gotten so big, and even more beautiful! Grace loved to look at her and touch her, and Rachael liked her just fine... as long as she was with anyone other than ME! Veronica was so sweet all weekend long, and so cuddly! Next year I think she and Rachael are going to be buddying up. They're going to have to, because Grace and Savannah, well...

They are inseparable!! It was a repeat of the weekend we spent in Georgia, the two of them playing and giggling together non-stop! I'm not really a big softy with my girls, but my heart broke when we had to leave Nana's Saturday night -- Grace just fell apart! She loves her cousin so much and sniffled all the way home. I reached my hand back and she grabbed it and squeezed so hard. I definitely think we have to try to get up to Georgia in the summer again. Maybe the whole family this time. It could happen!

It was such a busy long weekend, filled with friends and family! It was fun, but exhausting! Thankfully, Chris and I had enough energy to go out and celebrate our 6th anniversary on Saturday night!

I am so thankful that God brought Chris into my life. He's an incredible man. I mean... He cooks, he cleans, he tidies up the sink after he's done shaving in the morning. :-) He will go grocery shopping, and he'll take both the girls. He's been known to take the girls shopping for clothes too! He is a strong Christian, he is faithful, he is hard-working, he cares deeply about his friends. We have our ups and downs (who doesn't?), but I always know that he loves me and our girls. He makes me smile, he makes me laugh, and I don't know what I'd do with out him.

Have you had your fill of cheese and mush? I know I have! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

First Feast

Grace's VPK class had their family feast today! They were all wearing their turkey t-shirts and turkey hats, and there were even turkey cupcakes! Daddy was able to join us too!

Rachael came along, but was much more interested in checking out the room. She'll definitely be ready for preschool in August! She never wants to leave when we drop Grace off!

We are all very excited about Aunt Kiki, Uncle Jerry, Blake, Savannah and Veronica coming next week! It'll be so much fun to have the girls together again, especially since Veronica is going to be interacting with everyone!
As a prayer request, it looks like Chris is going to have surgery in December on his shoulder. Let's see...

2003 - Vanessa has Grace
2004 - Chris has knee surgery
2005 - Vanessa has her wisdom teeth out
2006 - Chris has the kidney stone and surgery
2007 - Vanessa has Rachael
2008 - Chris has shoulder surgery

I'm thinking this pattern needs to change! I'm also thinking no one should take the "in sickness or in health" part of the vows for granted!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! We know we have been given so much to be thankful for, especially our family and friends!

Because I just love these...

Found these on our other camera... More bubbles, and *gasp* ME playing with the girls!!!

This is my new favorite of Chris and Rachael -- they have the same smile!
Grace the Bubble Avenger, marching on after her latest attack!

Watching Rachael try to blow some bubbles!

A week to celebrate!

"Oh my gosh! I'm FIVE!!" I don't know why she posed like she's channeling Kevin McCallister, but it works! One day wasn't good enough for Grace, we celebrated her birthday just about every night last week! And some days too! Monday night, we went to Pump-It-Up, where she had her birthday party last year. We just went with a couple of her friends, and she had a blast! Rachael was pretty content sitting in Daddy's lap for quite a while, but soon enough she was showing interest in the big slide. With Daddy's arm in a sling (although that's gotten much better!), it was up to MOMMY to take her down! She loved it soooo much! One time, all three of us went down (me, Rachael and Grace), and that was definitely an adventure!

On Tuesday night, we had a visit from the girls' Papa (Vanessa's dad). His birthday was Monday, so he stopped by for dinner and he brought entertainment in the form of his Wii! That was a huge hit, not only with Grace, but with me too! Grace played golf (her choice, she insisted), then bowling. I let everyone stay up way too late that night!

Wednesday was her actual birthday, and although I didn't bring goodie bags for the kids in her class (I just can't get into that), I did make cupcakes. (Yes, I said make, and yes, they came from a box. You can't go wrong with Funfetti.) Grace was so proud bringing them in! We stopped by Nana's office on our way home, where Grace got the gift she'd been waiting for -- the new Little Mermaid movie! It also included a comb and hairbrush (plus a tiara) all with Ariel on them, and Grace now insists we can only comb and brush her hair with those. Chris' mom came by after she got out of school with gifts from her and Grandpa, as well as Aunt Lisa and Uncle Darryl. Lots of miniature toys (and his mom is so brilliant, she brought a Rubbermaid container to keep them all in!) that Grace plays with... while watching the new Little Mermaid movie. These toys are especially fun for her, because they remind her of the toys she played with when she was visiting her cousins in Georgia this summer! (By the way, Katrina, she wants to go back to Savannah's other Nana's so they can play Polly Pocket together again.)

But wait! There's more! A while ago we asked Grace where she'd rather go for her birthday, Sea World or Busch Gardens. She chose Sea World, so that's where we went on Saturday. Chris' mom was able to join us, and we had a blast, as usual! It was especially fun watching Rachael get so much more involved this time! She was able to ride a few of the rides this time, and I think she might've tried to touch a stingray if we'd let her! (I touched FIVE of those slimy little suckers, and Grace still wouldn't try herself!)

More pictures, of course!

Rachael comforted the Xbox controller, feeling sorry for it the night the Wii came. On Wednesday, I let her sample some frosting. (Because I was, and she caught me!) She made such a fuss when I told her it was all gone, I gave her the container to prove it. She managed to scrape every last little bit out!!

First of all, isn't this cute? Grace is poised to take Chris' position one day as tour guide at Sea World. And Rachael looks thrilled to be in the stroller, doesn't she? She was! If we were having trouble with her at all, if we asked, "Wanna go in the stroller?" she would immediately relax! This was the best. thing. EVER! It was my gift from Chris for the day. It was even more fun to watch the girls interact in it, or watch Grace sling her arm behind Rachael's shoulders as we strolled along. I don't think I can go to any theme park again without renting one of these!

Here's Grace waiting patiently for some dolphins to swim by.
Even though they changed the layout and you can't really get close to where the dolphins frequent unless you spend $7 for 4 slimy fish to feed them. I'm not bitter.

Miss Rachael checking out the sea turtles.
You can tell it's at the beginning of the day -- her hat is still on!

Rachael was willing to have her picture taken with the big penguin. Grace was not.
I wish I could enlarge this picture -- Rachael is definitely keeping her eye on the friendly penguin!

Here we all are in their version of Disney's teacup ride!
Rachael would not turn around before the ride began for Chris to get a picture of all of us,
but he snagged one while we were in motion!

It was a busy, fun-filled week! Less than 4 months before we do it all again for Rachael's 2nd birthday!!

Are you ready for some football?

Ask Grace what teams we cheer for and she will promptly respond, "Go Dolphins! Go Gators! Go Phillies!" (The Pirate vs. Bulldog debate rages on...) On Labor Day, Chick-fil-A provided us with an opportunity to showcase our fandom, giving free Chick-N-Strips to customers wearing any football team's logo.

Our Dol-Fan
This uniform was a shower gift when I was pregnant with Grace,
and Chris says it's not being passed down to ANYONE!
Thanks, Nicole, we are still loving this!

Gator Girl

One of the employees was also going around offering
stuffed cows or small footballs to the kids.
Guess which the girls wanted!

Daddy & Rachael
Daddy was slick and brought a coupon for a free IceDream,
and it was split four ways without any incident.
(And, yes, that's right, we went out and got free chicken strips and dessert
in the same place, we're skilled like that!)

Grace & Mommy

Here is Rachael eyeing THE COW! The girls get so excited when the Chick-fil-A Cow makes an appearance! Rachael couldn't make up her mind -- she would be squealing to get closer to him, and then if Chris took her near him, she'd squeal to get away! And I'm not sure if you can see it, but Rachael has a little bruise on her cheek. When I first saw it last week, I asked what happened and Chris thought it was from when she kind of plowed into our bed. I thought maybe I was kissing her squishy cheeks too hard! My mommy senses were on alert though, and over the weekend I casually brought it up to Grace, and it turns out it was the result of a skirmish between the two. *sigh* Grace owned up to it right away, though, and apologized for a second time, because she told me she'd said she was sorry to Rachael right after it was originally done!

Grace wanted to hug the Cow, but instead just took the photo op! She loves going to Chick-fil-A, but I think it's because when we go we're usually meeting friends there! We were actually surprised we didn't run into more people we knew when we were there today! Especially Auburn fans -- we can't swing a cat without hitting an Auburn alum in this area!! ;-) We're definitely more of a pro family, I think, and Grace told me today that she wanted another "Dolphin dress" since Rachael fits into hers now! I told her I was pretty sure that could be arranged -- I think her dad considers that to be a wise investment!

Since a few people have actually commented in e-mails about how long my hair looks, I had Grace take a picture from the back. She and I are going in for haircuts this week, and I have to admit I'm tempted to get it chopped (not like the Mom Cut shown at the end of the previous post), but I really would like to grow it a bit longer and donate it to Beautiful Lengths. I've got several inches to go, but I think I can hang on for a little while longer! (It's kind of flippy at the ends because I let it air dry this morning!)

And at the end of the day, right before bedtime,
the girls are still hanging out and having fun. :-)

Hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend!