Pretty Pretty

On Sunday, we were blessed with the sweet side of our little Allie, thus the smiles & laughs for the camera:

I love this next picture because she dropped something between her feet and she's lifting her dress like a lady!

Zachary's first Bible verse

LOVE IT!!

The State of Our Union

Todd & I celebrated our 9 year anniversary last week! I am tempted to be proud of this accomplishment, but I know that our 9 years of marriage is a direct blessing from God. I am very very thankful for a husband that works at making our marriage work.

My favorite part of this year's anniversary is that we got each other the EXACT same card. This speaks volumes about "The State of Our Union"...and it makes me laugh!

Imaginations at work

The kids have been dressing up in old costumes & silly clothes lately. Allie will drag the items to the kitchen for me to help her put them on. SO cute. I love watching them play together.

A not-so-great family vacation

We had a nice little family vacation set for last weekend at a beautiful island off the Georgia coast. We knew it was going to be a challenge because everybody got sick with this awful stomach bug just as we were leaving town. I wouldn't qualify the weekend as a failure, nor would I consider it terrible. It was just not-so-great. I didn't take many pictures at all. But here are a few of the kids with their little floaties at the pool. They loved these.

And when they were finally back to eating regular food, we had a little "dinner & a movie" set up for them in the hotel room. I think they really enjoyed it!

Desperate Times...

There are times when a woman just wants to finish a pile of laundry without incessant interruption...

Lost & Found

LOST: Caucasian female, age 16 months, hazel eyes, minimal brown hair, height=32 inches, weight=22 lbs., sweet-natured, smiley face, pleasant demeanor, affectionate, loving, quiet but friendly, plays well with others, gentle, well-behaved, obedient, easy-going, mildly flexible, fun to be with, predictable, plays well alone, easy to entertain, easy to please.

FOUND: Caucasian female, age 16 months, hazel eyes, minimal brown hair, height=32 inches, weight=22 lbs., extremely sensitive, moody, grumpy-faced, mean, bites others, throws fits, screams bloody hell at random spontaneous intervals, rolls around on the floor, recent episodes of head-banging, bucking & kicking, severe mood swings, unpleasant, unfriendly, furrowed brow, impossible to please, impossible to predict.


***If you have found our sweet little Allie Marie, we'll gladly exchange the little person who has recently inhabited her room. We'll also offer a small monetary reward. Please call or email us.

Little Thinker

We've always known that Zachary is very perceptive and thoughtful. The other day, I was listening to a Taylor Swift CD and here are some of the questions he asked me. I was surprised he was even able to simply hear & understand the words to the songs, let alone to ask about a lot of the phrases that have deeper, symbolic meanings. I love his little mind!!

"Mommy, what's 'outskirts of town'?"

"What is a dreamer?"

"Why does she say, '...your white horse to come around...'?"

"What does '...this love is difficult...' mean?

"What's '...to catch me now...'? Why does she say that?"

"Why does she say 'dream' again & again?"

Popsicles

Summertime brings lots of fun treats...and one of them is Popsicles. Zachary & Allie LOVE popsicles. Because they are SO messy, I've been making the kids take their shirts off and enjoy their treats on the back porch. I took these pictures, playing around with some settings on my camera. I thought they were pretty cute. This first one is my new favorite of the two of them.

War Paint?

Zachary decided to color his face (and totally freak me out!) with markers yesterday. I was in the kitchen with them while they were coloring, but I was busy & distracted. He popped up & growled at me with that face, which caught me off guard. For about .5 seconds, I was frightened & a little confused, but looking at that super-cute face and realizing his beautiful eyes were begging for some kind of reaction, I really couldn't help but laugh. (Later, I had to find a way to explain that, while funny, drawing on our faces is really not a "best" decision.)
And, of course, somehow a red NON-WASHABLE marker was in the mix. So, 24 hours later, he still has all the red marks. Interesting that he chose to use 1 color on each side....! I LOVE THIS KID!

We're Expecting...

...our first niece or nephew, of course! My little sister Jenny & her husband Dan (Unkie Dan) are due to have their first baby in January 2010. Todd & I are SUPER excited about the prospect of becoming Uncle Todd & Aunt Becca. And, we are looking forward to Zachary & Allie having their first cousin. YAY!!!!! (Here's a cute picture of the kids, just because!)

More funnies

Zachary: "Mommy, I don't like your hair like that."
Mommy: "OK, well I'm going to work tonight, so I'll probably keep it like this for now."
Zachary: "No Mommy, you need to fix it. Put it all in the back with a black thing." (ponytail holder)

******

Mommy: "Zachary, I think your blankie is sad."
Zachary: "Stinky blankie isn't sad. He's happy!"
Mommy: "I don't know, he looks kinda sad. You've been chewing on him so much, he's starting to get holes. And he is stinky."
Zachary: "Mommy, don't worry about it. That's just what happens."

******

Zachary: "Mommy! There's a fly in here! Come into the bathroom and get the fly! I can't pee with bugs bothering me!"