Out of the Mouths of Not-So-Much-Babes

Scene: Mommy is happily congratulating Rachael on being a big girl

because she's going on the potty and wearing big girl panties all the time.

Mommy: Rachael, do you know what makes you special?

Rachael: Jesus!  Jesus makes me special!

Scene: Mommy is in the kitchen doing dishes,

Grace has taken a shower and gotten herself ready for bed. 

Grace enters the kitchen in tears.

Mommy: What's wrong, honey?

Grace: I was just thinking that I'm starting to do more on my own,

and I was afraid you were gonna think that I don't need you anymore!

Spring has sprung! FINALLY!

What has happened in the last month...

That's me (standing, third from the left) with a bunch of friends after we ran the Disney Royal Family 5K at Epcot the first weekend in March.  This was my first 5K, and even though I didn't get bit by the running bug, I did have a lot of fun!  It probably helped that we were all wearing tutus and boas!

And even though I let the cold weather we had and the time change (too dark in the early morning!) further disrupt my "training," I signed up for another 5K in April.  No tutus this time!

That's the girls just this past Sunday, wearing dresses they got for Christmas from their GG -- the weather was finally spring-y enough for them! 

Gracie is doing great in school, her teacher has started her in the Accelerated Reader program and she seems to be loving it, and doing well!  She hasn't shown an interest in any kind of after-school activity so far (soccer, ballet, etc.), but when I told her about her school's Young Authors Celebration and that she could write a book for it, she was all over it!  She wrote three little books in one weekend!  We picked one to turn in -- she dictated her words to me since she was having trouble fitting them on the page, and she did all the illustrations and the cover page!  She was so excited to turn it in!

Rachael has turned into a total Chatty Cathy!  I love listening to her talk, and she's getting much more conversational with the moms and dads of her friends!  I've been told she's pretty much the teacher's little assistant in her preschool class, and that just tickles me!  She's also started to sing songs in the car and during movies -- I'm already looking forward to the fall when she starts choir!  Of course, we'll see how she does at the end of the year program for preschool in May! 

This is our Spring Break, so I've been trying to keep the girls busy -- and we had our 2nd Annual Pajama Day on Tuesday!  The girls loved going to the mall in their pajamas with their friends, and I have to admit, it was pretty comfy!  Three other moms and their kids joined us this year, it was a lot of fun!  We have a big playdate and picnic coming up, then a movie morning, and by next Monday I'll probably need another week to recover!

Now, for your viewing pleasure... Recently Chris got me a new game for the Wii, Just Dance, and Grace decided she was going to get in on the action.  She's already topped my score at a couple of the songs!  So here we are "dancing" to Wannabe by The Spice Girls:

Now that I've sufficiently made a fool of myself, I'll go!  :-)  Hope things are warming up where you're at!

Brrrrthday!

Just after Christmas we took the girls to Sea World to see their Christmas stuff.  They got to visit Santa -- we told him he was taking his vacation in Orlando.  ;-)  They told him what their favorite gifts were, and we had a great, albeit COLD, time!  We were definitely bundled up as we watched their ice show!

Chris was busy over his "vacation" -- his biggest task was painting the girls' bedroom.  We had picked a pink that I thought would look less Pepto Bismol and more dusty rose.  I was out while Chris painted, and he called to let me know that he thought it might be a little darker than I expected.  I told him to go ahead, there wasn't much we could do about it now!  I came home and was greeted by the pinkest pink I'd ever seen!  We also put up the toddler bed for Rachael.  The girls were SO excited about their room!  Here are a couple of pictures of them as they first came in, and you can catch a glimpse of the pink:

Gracie pretends to sleep for her photo op...

Rachael pretends to stretch and yawn...

January came and brought along MUCH colder weather, so we learned a lot about hats, scarves and gloves!  These were taken when the girls were helping their daddy with some work on the back porch early one evening!  This was before they had their scarves, which I may have run out to get that very night.  I had no idea how much a scarf could help in the cool weather -- but why would I, being a native Floridian??  I was very thankful we were able to get all wrapped up every morning for school!  So were the girls!  (If you notice in the picture with Rachael, Chris is wearing shorts!!  Even on the coldest day we had, he went outside and ran errands in shorts, it's like he never gets cold!!

January also brought Miss Rachael's 3rd birthday!  We celebrated with family, and she picked the main dish -- pizza!  When asked what kind of cake, without hesitation she replied, "Strawberry!"  So strawberry she got!  Rachael had a big week -- even though she started off under the weather, she managed to fit in a haircut, a little lunch after moms' group with her friends, her birthday party, bringing cake to school the following day, and then after we picked Gracie up from school on Friday, we headed over to the zoo.  WHEW!  We did manage to wear the girls out enough that Rachael told us she was ready to go to bed!

Gracie brought home her second report card -- that's still a little wild!  She's doing great in school, and she's really impressing us with how well she's reading!  There is no point in spelling out words in front of her anymore, she'll figure it out!  Chris and I are going to have to figure out a new kind of code!  Grace loves coming home and telling us what she's learned, and I LOVE that!

Rachael is also still a huge fan of school!  For a little while there, she was acting like she was going to bolt after me when I dropped her off, but all it took was her sweet teacher offering to let her paint, and usually she'd be fine!  :-)  After the break, she was back to walking herself in and barely sparing me a wave!  She is definitely talking clear enough for strangers to understand, and the funniest thing is when she gets her hands going!  We are still working on the potty training thing -- and I do mean WE, it definitely takes parental involvement!  She knows what to do, I think it's just going to take me being willing to give up the diapers and Pull-Ups during the day altogether, and I'm not there yet!  Soon, though!

The girls are so much fun, especially when they play together, which they do fairly well!  Lately Rachael has become a little bit more affectionate with Grace, coming over and sitting in her lap or randomly giving her hugs.  Gracie will usually holler out, "Mama!  Look!" so I don't miss it.  Love them!

Things are warming up here, hope that you and your family are staying warm as well!

An Adorable Christmas

After the decorating was done, we started the rest of our Christmas festivities with Rachael's preschool Christmas concert.  As you can see, she got a little case of stage fright!  She was quickly rescued by her teacher and thankfully her tears dried up!  She stayed in her teacher's lap for the rest of the concert, and afterwards was just fine and dandy! 

The very next day, the kindergarten classes at Gracie's school had their Christmas concert, and each class had their own song to sing.  Gracie's group sang "Santa Bingo" -- that's Gracie proudly holding up the second 'A'.  If you aren't familiar with this tune, think B-I-N-G-O, only with S-A-N-T-A.  There was a man with a long white beard, and Santa was his name-o!  All of the music was very cute!

Daddy got to come home early on Christmas Eve, and not long after he got in we had a visit from Papa.  Later, after the church services were over, we spent the rest of Christmas Eve with Chris' parents, and Christmas morning we got to experience the joy of the girls waking up and making their run to the tree to see what Santa brought!  (My favorite part was after all the gifts had been opened, Rachael pulled out a tub of blocks that they've had forever and started playing with them!)  After that, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a delicious Christmas dinner, made it home for naptime, and then had a visit from Nana and Grandpa Ken!

This was the first year we actually really did Santa with the girls (even Grace), so we're still learning!  Santa forgot batteries for the little Dirt Devil that Rachael got, and Grace is wondering how I'm going to be able to go to Target and exchange the princess tent that Santa brought them... What can I say?  I'm a novice!

We have been blessed every year as a family, but this year did feel a little extra special as we celebrated in our home! 

We hope you enjoyed your Christmas, especially those of you who were able to have a white one!! 

Turkey Time 2009

Thanksgiving is no longer something we celebrate for just one day, it's an EVENT! With Katrina and her family spending the entire week with us, it is filled with family -- and we love every minute of it! This year we had a very special treat in going to Disney World on the first day of the week -- it was Mommy, Gracie, Rachael, Aunt Kiki, Uncle Jerry, Blake, Savannah, Veronica, Nana and Papa! The little ones had a wonderful time, meeting fairies, riding rides, and being pushed or carried all the livelong day!

It was so good to spend that much time with everyone, and we definitely have to get those girls together more!

Here are some pictures of our time together...

Savannah & Gracie ready for their Disney Day!

Aunt Neener & Veronica in line to meet the fairies!

All the girls together, getting ready to watch a movie!

Rachael with her cousin, Blake at Nana's house.

Rachael, Gracie & Savannah, playing while Veronica was sleeping on Uncle Chris, then Nana.

One of my absolute favorite pictures ever!

Florida Fall

I know some people scoff, but I think Floridians appreciate our autumn as much as anyone else. I think we might appreciate it more, considering we don't have as many leaves to rake. ;-) Anyway, today was our first day of cooler weather! Before the girls even went outside, they were asking for their sweaters! So there they are, my little Florida Girls, ready to brave the icy temperature of SEVENTY DEGREES!!!

And just over the weekend we were in tank tops and shorts at Sea World!

A couple of weeks ago, Gracie celebrated her 6th birthday. Early that week, we had a few friends over for a birthday playdate. Gracie and I worked together that afternoon to put the stage up for her friends:

The girls had a great time dressing up, and a few times the runway got some use! (It's got a sensor so that when they head out on the runway, you hear music and applause! Thanks, Papa!) One friend brought over a particular dress that Gracie tends to wear when she goes over to their house to play. We will label this "Daddy's Worst Nightmare":

Rachael found another use for the stage when the rest of the girls were back in the bedroom being different variations of princesses...

On her actual birthday, we just had family over at the house (it's so nice to be able to fit everyone!), and Gracie got to celebrate again! Publix made the cake for the gathering with friends, but since I'd bought two packages of Funfetti mix, we were able to have a cake that night as well!

Rachael loved it too!

The girls are still enjoying school, Gracie got the Student of the Week honor last week so we were proud of her for that! (Each child gets a chance to be it, but I was still pleased!) When Rachael gets to her preschool class now, she barely spares me a wave! She just puts her little bag in her cubby, and off she goes! So far, I haven't cried over this! :-) It's actually kind of fun to see her so comfortable and enjoying herself like that, and definitely better than the alternative!

The house is ALMOST done! I am hoping that when Rachael is at preschool, I can come home and tackle the office -- maybe not get it entirely done, but at least make a decent dent! We still have a few boxes that I'm ready to sort through and get rid of -- it'll be nice to not have to keep the door closed when we have company! ;-)

All in all, things are going well! Hope you're enjoying the beginning of fall where you are!

Country Girls

Grace was studying the farm this week, and as part of that they read about the country mouse and the city mouse. On Friday, they were able to dress like a country kid or a city kid, and Gracie chose to go country! She flat out REFUSED to wear overalls, but this dress worked just fine. As you can see, Rachael wanted to be a little bit country herself!

First Post from THE NEW HOUSE!

Oh, how I wish I had some pictures to offer you! I tried to take some photos the other day, but I just don't have a gift for getting the right perspectives and everything! I hope to get some though, especially some before-and-after shots of the work in the yard that Chris will be doing! He's already made some vast improvements! The yard is in great shape, but there are a bunch of weeds in the landscaping, and he wants to make some more changes. He'll be great at it!

The week before last, I had a bunch of wonderful friends that watched Rachael during the mornings (while Grace was at a VBS at the church where she'd gone to VPK), and I packed away! The next week, Grace was at dance camp and I was helping with the arts camp (helping lead the drama class, what a shock!) at our church. That FRIDAY was closing and that weekend we had our plans to move!

Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., Chris and I went to sign a bunch of papers (that's us right after with our keys -- can you tell we're happy??), while his mom took Grace to dance camp and watched Rachael. Right after closing, I headed to the church for the last day of the arts camp. The performance for their families was at 11:30 a.m. While I was there, Chris and his mom started moving a ton of stuff over to the house! We took some more stuff over when I got back, and Chris took the first shower in the new house (without hot water, the breaker for the a/c and hot water heater was turned off!), then we rushed over to the dance studio for Grace's performance. WHEW!

All weekend I was in awe of the help we had, it was incredible! So many people came to lend a hand, and we were so appreciative!!

We still have a long way to go, of course, but we can take our time! IT'S OUR HOUSE! Yay!!

Grace has made herself right at home, she loves it! (Check her out playing her current favorite, Mario Kart.) Rachael took a little more time getting used to it, for a few days she kept asking when we were going to "the different house." (She's checking out a bagworm that was right outside the front door.) They both LOVE the space they have! We've already had a couple of their friends over for a visit, and it makes such a huge difference! I think Snickers is still getting adjusted -- she is definitely not acting like herself, but hopefully she'll realize that this is HOME, and she can get quite a workout speeding around the house! I really want to take her for a walk around the neighborhood, but she quits before I do in this heat! However, I will have more time soon since...

THE GIRLS GO BACK TO SCHOOL! Well, Grace goes back, Rachael is starting! Grace's first day of kindergarten is this Thursday (we meet her teacher and she has her assessment tomorrow), and Rachael begins preschool at the church two days a week next Tuesday! (We will also go to her open house tomorrow, right after we leave Grace's school.) I am praying that Grace will adapt this year as well as she did last year -- her first day of VPK, she didn't know anyone at all. Even though some familiar faces will be at the same school, so far I haven't talked to anyone that has the same teacher. I am excited for her, though! Rachael is READY! She has been asking to go to school! I know she's going to have so much fun!

So many changes in such a short amount of time! But so many positive changes, and so many blessings!

Lovin' Summer

Swim lessons finished up the first week of July, but here are some pictures from the last lessons that I love:

Grace and Rachael, poolside.

Faith and Grace, cutest friends!

Rachael gives Miss Annamarie "smooches"
(especially nice since she cried during most of the lessons!)

My OWN proud moment!
Being able to swim across the pool, keeping Rachael's head (and mine) above water!

Last week we braved the hot, sticky weather and ventured to the zoo with some friends! Thankfully, not all that long ago our zoo improved their just-for-kids area, so now there's a place for the kids to cool off and splash around. I'm told that there's also a play area and a petting zoo, but we've never made it past the water! Once the girls get there, we're done!

This week Grace has been enjoying VBS at the church where her VPK was, so she's been able to spend some time with kids from her class and of course loves that! I have been SO blessed because during this time, Rachael has had playdates so I can PACK!!! Everything is still looking good for a closing at the end of the month! The home inspection went very well -- one thing that was found turned out to be a precaution that was taken by the owner to prevent damage, and another issue was resolved the day the owner was notified of it! And it was even a minor thing that Chris was willing to fix himself!

We were at the house for the home inspection, and I just couldn't help myself...

Hugs for the beautiful refrigerator!

Maybe I can do some before-and-after shots once we're moved in! I took some pictures when we walked through, but I don't think I was able to get the right angles and everything. We'll see! It's so exciting though!! Nearly 7 years in the making, and God clearly had a plan!

Just keep swimming!

There was one week between VBS ending and our swim lessons beginning! We kept busy during those few days by having friends over so their moms could get to appointments, and I even managed to survive a couple of days with my personal worst nightmare: PLAY-DOH! As much as kids love Play-Doh, I fear it! The texture, the smell, everything! I wash my hands everytime I touch it! But Rachael had never played with it before, and I wanted to give them something fun and creative to do, so out it came. (As did the wax paper to put over the dining room table.) Amazingly, there was hardly any on the floor, and none of it went in anybody's mouth. Even when Rachael's idea of playing with it turned into this:

Swim lessons began, and Grace is still a little fish! She has some technical issues to work on (blowing bubbles while she's under water, mostly), and Rachael... Well, Rachael has to work on not screaming, crying and basically having the biggest fits EVER during lessons. She's happy as a clam when she can play on her own in the shallow part, but the minute we bring her in further to actually learn something, she goes nuts! And it's not that she's scared -- she just doesn't have control, and she hates that! (Oh, how I look forward to the teenage years!)

Here is Grace under the water (she's pretty fast!), and then Rachael, who's pouting. She wasn't allowed to play with some of the toys until she tried to blow some bubbles, or at least kick from the side of the pool. She managed to kick a few times in order to play!



Aren't these towels adorable? The girls got them for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa and I waited until now to break them out! They love them! Grace's is The Little Mermaid, and Rachael is obviously a princess! ;-)

We have two lessons left, then another week that we've already got some activities planned, and then Grace will go to another VBS, followed by a dance camp! That's going to be a good little practice for school (for both of us!), because she'll be there from about 9:30 am - 3:30 pm!

I can't believe how fast the summer has gone by already, and how much we've actually had going on! It's been so much fun, and I've really enjoyed my time with the girls! I know we still have a little over a month left, but I honestly thought I would be longing for August to come around and that's definitely not the case! I'm so excited for them to start school, but I think I'm going to miss them a little more after this summer!

Oh, and one more thing... Grace and Rachael aren't the only ones keeping busy this summer! We ask that you keep praying for us as we prepare for...

Our move into OUR NEW HOME!!! Our closing date is set for July 31st, and we are definitely asking for prayers that as we come to the end of this process everything will go smoothly! Including packing!!

Thanks to those of you that have been praying as we've been looking -- it's been a learning and growing experience, and I wouldn't trade any of it! Well, I'd probably go back to fix my attitude in the beginning, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing! ;-) Thank you so much for lifting us up, we have felt your prayers!

Obviously there will be more to come! We'll keep you posted!

Daddy-Daughter Days

Today Chris and his dad headed over to the Bass Pro Shop in Orlando -- and they took the girls! From what I saw on their website, it seemed like they had a lot to look at and even some activities for kids this weekend, so I hope they're having a good time! Chris is fearless when it comes to taking the girls places, and they love to do pretty much anything with him!

Last Friday, Chris and Grace went to a Daddy-Daughter Dance hosted by a church. The girls made cards for their dads, they got their picture taken, they got to make cupcakes, and there was dancing! We didn't think Rachael would be up for it this time around, so she hung out with me -- but Chris said later that she probably would've gotten out on the dance floor! Here's a picture of Chris and Grace before they left...

Last night as I was putting the girls to bed, I stepped out of the room for a moment and heard Grace calling me. "Mom, Rachael's doin' something!" Lately, it's usually, "Mom, Rachael's naked again!" Sometimes it's because she wants to try to go potty or her diaper needs changing -- either way, it could mean that potty training is on the horizon for her. But last night, it was just Rachael being mischievous. I came into the room and she had pulled herself up on their little kitchen counter and was standing up behind it. Check out her little face -- the picture of innocence, right?

VBS was last week, and everyone had a great time! Grace had a class filled with her friends, Rachael was wonderful in childcare (once again I was told how helpful she is when it comes to cleaning up!), and I had the opportunity to lead the children's (1st-6th graders') Bible story time each day. It was a lot of work, but it was so much fun -- my favorite part was reenacting a storm by turning on a box fan and squirting the kids with a water bottle! (It was their favorite part too -- every day after that, they asked me to squirt them!)

It seems like the calendar keeps filling up -- swim lessons will start soon, and Grace has activities through the church that she gets to attend this year! I think to be safe I may just schedule dates where we make a point to not plan anything!!

Hope you're continuing to enjoy your summer!

End of the Year - Beginning of Summer!

Grace's last week of school brought us...

Water Day!

A little bit of (cute) attitude!

Rachael's first haircut with Kathy!

Pajama Day! (Nope, I didn't join her!)
And, of course, Graduation Day!

The girls got to go to the pool with their babysitter on Friday, a birthday party for a friend of Grace's at a community pool on Saturday, and then Sunday night was Grace's end-of-the year program at church! She sang every word to every song, she has come so far!

Today was a big day for us -- it was the girls' first real trip to the beach! Yep, you read that right -- born and raised in Florida and, at 5 and 2, today was their first time to really have a beach day! Grace went when she was 2, but it was in December and it was only so her Uncle Jerry could take some great pictures of her. The girls had a BLAST! Surprisingly, Grace was a lot braver than Rachael, bounding into the water with her buddy, Faith! Rachael wanted to hang back at first. After a while she realized it wasn't so bad and let me and Faith's mom bring her further into the water, with us helping her jump when the little waves broke!

Splishing and splashing!!

Rachael heads towards the water -- you can see the hesitancy!

Hope your summer is off to a great start too!