Sydney's Birthday Party

We had a wonderful time celebrating Sydney's first birthday yesterday. We had a small family party, which was so perfect. GiGi, Dee, MeMe, Aunt Jenn, Aunt Sara, and Uncle T came. Aunt Laura and Uncle Bob were on their way, but they had car trouble and couldn't make it :(

I made some finger foods and decorated the table and kitchen. Hobby Lobby has the cutest, most affordable decorations. And almost everything could be saved for another party later in life!

Sydney knew it was her day! She prissed and pranced around the house all day. She also LOVED her cake. She picked one crumb at a time, starting with the icing, then working her way into the cake. She is such a lady. A prissy lady.

She got lots of girly toys from everyone!! I have loved seeing the baby stroller, princess ride-on toy, and multiple baby dolls around the house all day. She also got a Little People doll house and some precious spring outfits. Thank you, everyone!

One Year Old!

I cannot believe my Sydney is one year old!!

We let her open the gift that Jack picked out for her yesterday morning. He was disappointed because she didn't play with the toy like he wanted her to. I guess he expected her to jump on and ride around the house. She just wanted to push the buttons and listen to music. Ha! He did a great job getting her pony all ready for her to play with.



This is her "cheese" face. She is smiling really hard in this picture. Hilarious!!



And here we are before school yesterday morning. Jack is still in his pajamas - don't worry, we only let him wear his Guatemalan soccer jersey to sleep in.

Only three more months and we can sleep past 5:00 a.m.!!

Prissy Peacock and Scripture Memory

Oh, how I love having a girl!! Dressing her up is a huge highlight of my day....even if it's just casual day care clothes. I bought this outfit for her for Christmas, and until today she refused to wear the hair accessory that goes with it. But today, oh today, I put it on her and she's never been so proud. Clint, on the other hand, refused to carry her into church because he was so embarrassed.

I mean, tell me she doesn't look proud of her appearance.

Yes, it's extravagant. Yes, she looks borderline ridiculous (okay, maybe completely ridiculous). Yes, I love this "headdress" on her so much. I think it really reflects her prissy personality. And one day she'll hate me for putting her in this whole getup.


And, of course, we had to go on and on about how handsome Jack looked today, too.

On another note: One of our goals for this year was to memorize more scripture. I'm one of those people that has to see the scripture written out and say it out loud over and over in order to memorize it. I saw this idea on my friend Melissa's blog. You just frame a piece of scrapbook paper or burlap (super cheap), then write with an Expo marker directly onto the glass. You can easily wipe it off and write again.

We keep our frame on the kitchen table so we'll see it several times a day. It's also great to practice during meal time together!

We pick one verse or passage a week and memorize it together. So far we have done:

Lamentations 3:22-23
2 Corinthians 10:5
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Psalms 51:12-13

It's amazing how memorizing scripture has strengthened our walk with Christ. I highly recommend it!

Ice Day!

No snow here in Alexandria....just ice, rain, and dreadfully cold weather! We have spent the entire day indoors playing, cleaning out junk drawers, and reading. We lost power for a couple of hours, and Clint lost power at the office, so all five of us stayed home together. It was wonderful!!


Sydney is 11 months old! She has hit some major milestones over the past two weeks.

Sorry for the nasty-nose picture. I was trying to capture the goose egg she got when she crawled right into the cabinet.

• she crawls ALL OVER the house now. Her little squishy body looks so cute.
• she pulls up to her knees....especially when she poops. It's hilarious.
• she FEEDS HERSELF now!!! That is so huge in our family of two babies. I can put her in the highchair with some Cheerios and it keeps her happy while I cook supper, etc.
• she is now forward-facing in the car. She loves it because she can just stare at me while I drive. Anytime I get to a stop sign or stop light I turn around and smile at her. She grins from ear to ear and then stares at me until I turn around again. Love angel.

K-Man is 8 months old! He is such a chunky baby. I brought him to the doctor this week for an unexplained fever, and he weighs 23 1/2 lbs!! If I'm holding K-Man and Sydney at the same time (which isn't often), I'm carrying almost 45 pounds. It's ridiculous!

At 8 months, K-man is:

• cutting his first two teeth. They should be completely visible in the next day or so.
• fussy fussy in the evenings. He can't wait to hit the bed at 6:15 or 6:30.
• Crawling all over the house as well! I think he and Syd will walk at the same time.
• Eating anything and everything you offer him. He has NEVER refused a bottle or solids.
• Has the sweetest smile you've ever seen.

Jack loves to pose for the camera. Ham. Bone.A few weeks ago there was an advertisement on the TV for some big monster truck show at the Coliseum. It looked a little inappropriate for Jack (or anyone, really), but Jack went CRAZY over the trucks. The next morning Clint drove him out to the coliseum and they snuck into some building where the trucks were being stored. Jack was ecstatic. Look how huge that truck is!!

Do yourself a favor...click on this picture, then zoom in and notice that Jack is wearing a camou jacket, pajama pants, and fireman rubber boots. He is also holding his own monster truck. See it? Thank me later.

That's all that's going on around here! We are ready for spring and summer!