A Room for a Little Girl

I am so, so thankful for the amazingly generous, kind, creative and resourceful (especially because I am not) people on my life!  Little did I know that while we headed to Dallas this weekend for sweet Anna's 2nd birthday party, my mom and her creative team (my dad, my grandmother, and Fairy) were busy working on Adelyn's room.  My mom had gotten with Jared and planned on having Adelyn's room put together (for the most part) by the time we got home on Sunday. 

Plans changed and we came back on Saturday evening after Anna came down with a bug.  But I couldn't help but get teary-eyed with thankfulness when my mom called and told me what their plans were for the next day.  Even though it would not be a big revealing surprise, it was so special that my parents came over on Sunday and put together Adelyn's room. 

While Miss A's room won't be 100% done for a couple of weeks (some pictures are being re-framed, a chair being recovered, etc.), I just couldn't wait to brag on the handiwork that was created by my sweet family.

Sweet Adelyn's bedding, lovingly made by Mom, with the help of Grandmommy

Cornice (Dad's creation) and curtains (again from Mom and Grandmommy)

This awesome shelf/decor/blanket holder (the uses are endless) was made by Fairy for some crazy number, like $20

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your hard work!  I could not imagine a more beautiful room for this little girl!  Cannot wait to see the 100% finished product in a couple of weeks!

Twin Pregnancies

No, not a twin pregnancy in the traditional kind which means two babies.  But this reference of twin pregnancies is defined as two friends pregnant at the same time, TWICE!

The big joke is that Casey and Jared do everything together.  And it has been a true statement even when talking about their families growing.  They each got married within 8 months of one another, had their first baby within 3 months, and their second little ones are scheduled to be two weeks apart!  It is so fun sharing all of these wonderful milestones with our beloved Gurgs!!!


Now, I am not one to take pregnant pictures.  I get very shy about standing there taking a picture by myself, but having your picture made with your pregnant friend makes it a little easier...

TWO YEARS AGO...

Carroll and I on January 15, 2009, just three days before sweet Anna was born.  Carroll was 38 weeks and I was 23 weeks pregnant.  Our little ones ended up being 11 weeks apart.

AND TODAY

Carroll at 33 weeks with baby William.  And me at 28 weeks with baby Adelyn.  Two babies destined to be buddies from the very beginning!

Tent Fun

Seeing how much Davis loved playing under a blanket draped over a couple of chairs for a tent inspired Santa to leave Davis a tent for Christmas.  While there are tons of tents out there, Santa wanted to combine Davis' love for hiding with his love for that mouse in the red shorts.  Unfortunately, there were not too many Mickey Mouse tents in stock at Santa's workshop.  So that meant one thing, he was just going to have to create something himself...

But, truthfully, there are just some things Santa cannot do on his own.  These very special presents call for reinforcements from none other than Santa's own mother herself, the most crafty of elves and always so willing to help.  And boy, did Gigi Elf out do herself! 

Here are some pictures of Davis finding his tent Christmas morning. 

A view of Mickey's clubhouse from the front

Checking out Mickey and Minnie

Running past Donald to see what's on the next side

Interestingly enough, Davis plays in his tent the most at night.  I guess he likes the dark, not sure...  Anyway, we were all playing in it the other night when it dawned on Jared to break out the flashlight for a real tent feel.  We had such a good time playing in the "dark".  Davis had a blast.  We love sweet memories with our sweet little guy!

"CHEESE!"

Daddy telling stories, in the traditional campout style of "flashlight-under-chin"

 Another big "CHEESE!"



10, 9, 8, 7...

The countdown is on! 

In less than 10 weeks (9 weeks on Monday), Miss Adelyn will be making her grand debut!  We are all scheduled for a March 21st birthday.  She'll be about a month early, like her brother, but are thrilled to be able to take advantage of a round of steroid shots this time to accelerate lung development.  We are so excited to meet little Adelyn and for Davis to show off his big brother skills.  But in the meantime, Mama needs to get in gear!!

The big to-do:
- Davis needs to be moved to his big boy room (although we're not ditching the crib).  And that means, finish painting, shopping, organizing, and decorating.
- Adelyn's room needs to be prepared.  Which entails finishing the baby bedding (no, no, I didn't dare try, my sweet mom is :) ), recovering a chair, painting, shopping, organizing, and decorating.
- Break out and clean the baby gear, and lots of washing of clothes, blankets, etc.
- MAJOR house deep clean
- Freezing meals - 'cause this lady knows she won't have much time to cook for a while...
- Buy a new car.  The ol' Honda has treated us well, but with two bambinos, it's time for some more cargo space.

Goal is to have pretty much everything done by the end of February so that March can be devoted to relaxing and some fun family-of-three time.

Here's to turning up some tunes, rolling up sleeves, and getting some mad work done during Mother's Day Out days!!!  The countdown is on!!!

This chair fits just right!

Davis loves Daddy's chair.  But for Christmas, Lovey and Papa Steve got Davis a chair of his very own!  He absolutely loves it and thinks he is big stuff to have a comfy chair just his size.

Posing with his new chair

"Hey!  This chair has my name on it!"

Thank you Lord for a case of the "No!"s!

We are in the stage of "No!!!"  While it is exciting for our little one to becoming better and better at what he needs, wants, and feels, it is also tiring and let's be honest, embarassing at times, when an emphatic "NO!" is yelled for the world to hear.

There are countless articles about how this is such a normal part of development and that is is in fact a stage that will end as quickly as it began.  But, nevertheless, Jared and I have worked tirelessly this week on how it's okay to say no, but there's a "nice" way to say it.  We let Davis overhear the different ways to say no nicely, we encourage Davis to show us how he can do it too, we praise him when he expresses himself in a nice way, and we've had our share of "talks" in our discipline spot when Davis hasn't shared his new learnings with our guests.

Yet, as I lost it and let out exhausted and embarassed tears when Davis was sharing his "No's" at an unpleasant, and let's call it rude, high pitch level, I was convicted about why exactly I was so upset.  Yes, it upsets me that my not quite two year old does not yet have a heart that is not easily tempted to think of himself over others feelings.  In my mind, I know that he is still young and his age is primarily consumed with selfishness, but I still hope and pray daily that he learns respectfulness at an early age.  But the Lord placed it on my heart that I was also upset about appearances. 

I admit that I found myself upset because my child had chosen to share this side of himself to an audience of more than just me.  My pride was taking over.  I desperately want Davis to grow to be a respectful, loving, hard-working person that loves the Lord.  But, today, I was thinking how it must look that I must be failing at my job of molding him to be that person.  And I realized, that if his behavior had radically changed to the opposite, would I accept the glory of such a well-behaved little being that responded to his mother's correction???  And the answer is, my pride would have desperately wanted to say yes. 

By the Lord's grace, Davis will grow to be a respectful, loving, hard-working man who loves the Lord deeply.  Yes, Jared and I will have had a hand in that, but it is only by way of the Holy Spirit working through us, not through our own power. 

This morning's passage in my devotional discussed giving thanks and praising God in all situations, both in pleasant and unpleasant times.  Wow, is He always so great in his timing and his lessons for us.

Lord God, thank you for this wonderful little man, for his precious little soul.  I praise you for your incredible wisdom to know that I would need to be reminded of my pride tendencies, and it would be best for me to see it through the outbursts of a toddler whose self-centered actions are not that different from my own.

"I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live."  Psalm 146:2

Happy Birthday Jared!

Christmas Day 2010 was also Jared's big 3-0 birthday (that's right, his birthday is actually 12-25)! 

We officially celebrated a month early with a surprise dinner in Dallas with the Gurgs at Jared's favorite steakhouse, Nick & Sam's.  It's impossible to try to get together with friends close to Christmas, so we decided to do it early (plus we were both able to have babysitters for the night!).  We had a great time together and did our best to celebrate the big new decade!

For the past five years, Jared and I talked about his big 30th birthday present would be a trip to Augusta National for the Masters tournament.  The Masters is Jared's absolute favorite sporting event of the year and it is a total dream of his to be able to see it in person.  But considering that we will have a baby at that very time, we decided to postpone that trip to his 40th birthday.  Instead (but still keeping in the golf state of mind), our sweet families pitched in and helped me get Jared a new set of golf clubs!  I would say it was time considering he got his last set of clubs as a freshman in high school!   He loves them and is happy to report better rounds!

A birthday is not a birthday without a birthday cake and some singing!  So, we gathered around while at my parents' celebrating Christmas to take a moment to celebrate Jared. 

Happy 3-0 Jared!  We have now been together for half of our lives!  Love this man more and more each day!!

Singing "Happy Birthday"!!!

I guess our singing was really off-key...