catch-up

I have been terribly delinquent about updating and to be honest, I have no reason. We had a great Thanksgiving, Christmas and we celebrated Madeline Jane's 1st birthday on January 3rd!

The girls are doing wonderfully- Madeline is walking, talking and leaving a path of destruction in her wake! She is full speed ahead all the time and is the funniest little person. She loves to dance and her favorite singer is Adele (she has great taste). She is an independant girl and insists on walking in and out of daycare each morning, we battled about holding hands while we walked for about a week and then she finally conceded that the hand holding was non-negotiable. ;) She walks in while waving and saying "hi!" to everyone we pass. The same goes for leaving in the afternoons, she waves and tells everyone "bye, bye, bye, etc..." She just had her 15 month check-up and weighed 21.7 lbs. It looks like she is going to be little like her sister.

Miles is still LOVING kindergarten and is really learning so much, her favorite things in school are reading and science. She is such a sweet spirit and the most loving, tender little girl. She always wants things to be calm & peaceful (which doesn't seem to be something Madeline is capable of) and is still a momma's girl. ;) Miles had her check-up at Campbell's Clinic last week, it's hard to believe that she had her surgery over a year ago!!! She has come so far since then. Her Dr. said her hip looks great and everything is still in place and she is growing like she should. I feel a huge sense of relief everytime we go and get a good report, like I have been holding my breath leading up to every appointment. The Lord had been with us guiding us and holding us close throughout her surgery, cast time and I know that He will continue to wrap His arms around her. She is still taking tap and ballet and is getting ready for the recital in the next 6 weeks!! She is looking forward to the production and wearing her costumes... Miles always loves an audience. She is growing up before my eyes and it's hard to believe that she's almost done with kindergarten!

Well, that is enough rambling for now. I am going to try to do better about updating more...we'll see how it goes.

Halloween 2011

we went trick or treating with a bunch of kids and people that live in our neighborhood. one of our sweet neighbors invited us to bring the girls to a hay ride/ trick-or-treating and Miles had so much fun! sweet Madeline Jane could not hang with the big kids and fell asleep half way down the 2nd cove. Bless her, all the halloween excitement wore her little self out. Frank's grandmother, Nana, made both of the girls costumes and they turned out AMAZING! Miles was a southern belle and Madeline was a clown. ;)

here are a few pics from the night...

Update & some phone pics...

To say I have been lacking in the blogging dept. is the understatement of the year! This fall has been crazy busy with parties, school, work, cheerleading, ballet, time with family, etc... The girls are both doing so great and are the most ridiculous amount of fun (although exhausting!!!). 

Miles is loving ballet and cheerleading and is still all about kindergarten! Madeline Jane is busy, busy, busy...she is crawling, cruising, jabbering and just EVERYWHERE all the time. She is the happiest baby and is such a little love.

Madeline is our mischevious one, she just takes off and explores the house. She is obsessed with magazines and loves to tear up any kind of paper, book, school work Miles brings home  & that goes over really well with big sister ;) She is cruising all around and has attempted standing on her own a few times, but isn't so sure about all that, yet. She weighed 18lbs and 6oz. at her last ear check (she is cursed with constant ear infections). Madeline is in her "pirate stage" and loves to growl/ ARGGG at us all the time. She has learned how to wave and waves at EVERYONE she sees. Overall, she is a mess! She keeps us all running and laughing.

Miles is going to be our little starlet, she loves an audience! She is really just blooming in school and is reading books, doing math (adding, subtracting, etc...). She has made lots of new friends and her teacher says she is the most popular girl in the class. We are so pleased with her school and LOVE her teacher. She is being challenged and having to work, which is just what she needs. I was worried the 1st wk of school when she had already mastered all of the testing areas that she was tested on. I was afraid that she would not be challenged and would not learn as much as we know she is capable of. That is thankfully not the case at all. Her teacher works one-on-one with the kids and gives them more challenging work if they need it. She is also so proud of getting out of the car in the mornings and walking into school like a big girl (this was heart-wrenching for me!). She is getting around great and only has the tiniest little limp now. I think cheering and ballet have been great for her. At her last Campbell's Clininc check-up ( a few wks ago) her Dr. said her bones have healed up and her hip is still in the socket!!!! We don't have  to go back for 6 more months! It is amazing to us all how far she has come. She is a strong and amazing little gift.

Well, that sums it up for now. Sooner or later, I'm going to have to charge my camera and upload pics from it.

Here are a few recent pictures I have taken with my phone...

party...round 2!

the day after the pool party, we had our families over for cake and ice cream to celebrate the birthday girl a little  lot more!



loving on Aunt Katy




Barbie fairy cake...(Miles loves colored icing that stains your teeth)



with Mimi & Papa



Nana & Madeline Jane




"Giddy" the horse!!!

Right after this, my lovely camera pooped out! So, I didn't get pictures of Miles with Grandpa, Celia, Aunt Shelby, Aunt Carolyn or a family shot...but you get the picture...

"Even my hands are bigger, Mama!"

Miles had a great 5th birthday, complete with a pool party! Frank's Dad & step-mom were so sweet to let us take over their house for the afternoon. Miles really had a fun time! She invited some of her girl friends and they swam, jumped off the side of the pool into the water and had fun being mermaids. ;)  She loved her gifts and her delish cupcakes from Mrs. Emily, of the Occasional Cupcake.



all the girls



Even sweet little Madeline Jane enjoyed herself swimming with the big girls.



New table & chairs for Molly! Thanks Grandpa, Celia, Aunt Rachel & Aunt Shelby!

 Miles told me that now that she is 5, even her hands were bigger! She apparently grew rapidly overnight and can run faster & jump higher. She demostrated her new skills most all of the weekend. ;) Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Happy Birthday to our Big Girl!!!

Today is Miles' 5th birthday!!! I cannot believe how fast time has flown by! I can remember the day we finally got to meet our sweet baby girl. Miles, you have been a blessing to all who know you. You are a strong, smart, beautiful girl and we are honored the the Lord has given you to us. Daddy and I love you more than you will ever know.

You are forever making us laugh, keeping us on our toes and repeating EVERYTHING you hear! You amaze me with your never-ending quest to know more and do more. I hope that you continue to be brave and so sure of yourself. You are so proud of your fancy dance moves and you sing at the top of your lungs to all the songs at church that you know & some that you don't! ;)  You love to pick out our own clothes and accessories and insist that you need "PRIVACY" to potty & then call for help to wipe. ;)

You love to snuggle and sneak into bed with mommy & daddy at night and will sleep at the foot of our bed if it means that we won't notice you climbing over us to get in the middle of the bed.

The day you were born, you lit up our lives. You made us a family! You have been the best thing to happen to our whole family & you are LOVED.

We love you, sweet Woosie girl!!!


We have celebrated Miles all weekend and will celebrate more tonight! I will post later about her party & add pictures!

"Anna"

My sister and I share a birthday, but we are 2 years apart age-wise. Our birthday is coming up and last night my mom and sister came over once I had gotten the girls to bed. It was strange to me that they wanted to come over (we live about 20 minutes away) being that the girls were in bed, can you tell Frank and I know our place?!? No one comes just to see us anymore, they come to see Miles & Madeline Jane...really, who can blame them?

Ok, I digress...so my mom and sister came and brought me a birthday present, which is odd not only because it was early, but it was WRAPPED & EARLY and if you know my mom, you know this unusual behavior. ;) So, I opened the gift and it was a pair of really nice dressmakers shears, which I was excited about and a bag of bobbins for my sewing machine. I was really confused because my sewing machine has been acting crazy lately and not working. I took her to the shop 2 weeks ago and got her back only for her to still not be working. UGH!!! I have been complaining to my mom about "Elna" (what I call my machine, silly I know) for weeks and how it sounds awful and keeps knotting up when I sew. Elna is literally older than I am, mom got her before she got pregnant with me and although it is a really good sewing machine, but she's definitely seen better days years. 

Anywho...

THIS IS WHAT THE BOBBINS ACTUALLY WENT TO!!!!!!

My parents & sister got me a BRAND NEW machine for my birthday- and she is named the "Anna"!!!! How much more perfect could it get?!  It is a Baby Lock machine and the series is called the "Anna."  This explains my mom's excitement in giving me my present (that and the fact that just yesterday I asked her to borrow her machine for a project I am working on for Miles' birthday party coming up)

Maybe turning 29 won't be so bad after all...