A New Friend

We have a older neighbor named Claire and she is always working out in the yard. We say hello and good bye. We have short conversations such as "How was your day?" 

Tonight John saw Claire working in her yard and he went over to the fence. The conversation went something like this...

John: Hi Claire

Claire: Hi John. How are you? 

John: Good. We should go somewhere and do something sometime since we are friends now. 

Claire: She smiled and said "Well I guess we are friends."

As John walked away, he looked at me and said "I guess I have a new friend now."

It was a sweet interaction and it made my heart warm. John loves being around people and he loves having friends. He has such an innocent way of interacting with people. If you talk to him, he considers you a friend. 

I hope his love of people stays with him. 

Brotherly and Sisterly Love

A few nights ago, Sophia was finished taking her bath and it was hair brushing time. This usually ends in whines and crying because of the tangles and her not liking to have her hair brushed. So John decided to take it upon himself to brush Sophia's hair. It was adorable. He got right in her face and told her that he wouldn't hurt her. He was "oh so careful" as he brushed her hair. 

As I watched from the couch, it was a sweet moment in my heart. It's funny because at their age, it is fighting over a toy one minute to being best friends the next minute. 

Trashy the Trash Can

We got a new trash can a couple months back and the kids are in love with it. You would think they have never had a trash can before this one. They love it so much that they named it "Trashy the Trash Can". Each morning after they eat breakfast, they go over to it and say "Wake up Trashy. I have trash for you!" They have a voice for the trash can. It is this low, growling sound that says "Yum". 

It makes Matt and I bust out laughing every time. I have this guilty feeling that they have adopted the trash can as a pet because we won't get them a dog or cat. Oh well...I really don't have to clean up after it. 

Have a great night!  

A Fun Night

Last night we had a fun family night after my meeting. John wanted to watch the very first Sesame Street episode. So we popped up some popcorn, got in our jammies and cuddled in. Did you know that Bill Cosby is in the very first episode. I believe they are on their 48th season this year. Amazing. Needless to say, the first episode is a little slow especially compared to the episodes now. We watched about 20/30 minutes of it and the kids were finished. Next, it was makeup time. Sophia decided I needed to get ready for a ball. John even got into it and added the lipstick that you see on me. After my face was completely painted (I mean War Paint looking!), we had our family ball where we danced. 

It was a fun night and a great way to start the week. 

Sophia is 3!!

Sophia is 3!! Can you believe it?? I can't. My sweet baby girl is 3 years old! She turned 3 last Friday and it is like she has all of a sudden grown up. She seems to have gotten taller and thinner...just over night! 

Well, we had a Tea Party for little Miss on Saturday. She had told me she wanted flowers and "GIRLS ONLY" at her party. So we invited 4 sweet girls over with their mommas and sent the boys off to play at the gym. 

We did open gifts from us and Nana LeAnn and Pops on Sophia's actual birthday. Here are a few pictures of this event...

The next day was tea party. It was a blast. The little girls were as good as gold...actually it was the quietest birthday party I had ever been a part of! We had decorated and were all set, just waiting for the guests to arrive.  

Sophia checking out the Tea Party table...

Sophia trying on her Tea Party hat.  

Here were some of the goodies...

Make up and Nail Table 

Dress up for everyone

This was my favorite idea...tea bag sugar cookies that the girls could dip into their strawberry milk. 

The guests arrived and it was make up time! 

Next we decorated cookies...

And then it was time for tea! 

We waited for the boys to get back before we blew out the candles. Sophia loved every minute of it! 

I have to thank my Mother and my Husband for all the help the gave to get this party ready. I think the party landed on the busiest week of my life, and we still pulled it off. I couldn't have done it without these two!

My sweet little miss has blossomed so much this year. A year ago, she would barely talk to people. I really think people didn't think she talked because she only talked at home. In the past year she has gotten potty trained and learned to become more independent. She has become this girly girl who LOVES jewelry, make up, dressing up, dolls and so on. She also doesn't sleep, loves to stay up late and sleep in during the morning hours. She loves sleeping on the couch and watching Princess Movies. She still has a love of books and has a pile with her at all times. 

Sophia - 

Happy birthday baby girl! We love you so much. We are excited to see what God has in store for you and your future. We are so blessed that God has given us this wonderful, precious gift. We love you from head to toe! 

-Love Mom and Dad

It is FINISHED!

Well...almost. But for the most part the floor is complete! My husband is amazing and has been working on this since September project. We thank the family members and friends that have helped. Not only have we torn out a one and half walls plus built a counter top, we have put in hard wood flooring. I LOVE IT!!! It has totally changed the look of our house. 

This weekend, my sweet husband stayed home while the kiddos and I hopped in the car and went to my parents house. He finished up the hallway...the last room. There is the still the quarter round that needs to be put in as well as the doorways need fixed, but the big stuff is done. Plus we got to return 7 boxes of wood back to Lowes. We ended up using 30 boxes. See below...

A few things from the kiddos...

John's massive tower he built (with a little help) in the bathtub tonight. 

Sophia's mess. This girl can play for hours at a time but you guess there will be a mess following her! Don't you love that it is right in our entry way!! 

Oh by the way...the entry way will be the next project. New tile will be added. But we are going to take a rest for now. 

Last day of Christmas Break

Today was my last day of Christmas break. I have been off work since December 21st and it has been a truly restful and relaxing break. Whenever I go on break, I am always a little nervous at the beginning because I think "What if I don't want to go back?" But once again, I am ready. I am ready for routine. I am ready to see my staff. I am ready to see my students...all of them :) This is one of the things that keeps me going...lets me know that I am where I am suppose to be. I will miss my kiddos but John's bedtime conversation sums it up for me:

Me: I go back to work tomorrow. I will miss you but I will pick you up from Jewell's house. 

John: Mom, I won't miss you. 

Me: Well that isn't very nice. 

John: What I mean mom is that I don't have to miss you because you know that you don't have to worry about Sophia and me because Mrs. Jewell takes care of us. 

He is exactly right. We are so blessed with the caregivers in our children's lives. I don't have to give it a second thought when I have to drop them off. 

Here are a couple pictures from the last few days.