Laney turned THREE last week.
We had all the family meet at Chuy's, her favorite restaurant, for lunch. Then everyone came over to our house for cake and ice cream. She was not in the greatest mood. She naturally has a shy, timid personality. I have learned if I rehearse things with her before they happen, she generally does better, but that is not always the case. So she cried when everyone sang happy birthday to her... I think that is mostly because she doesn't like having everyone's attention on her. She would much rather be a wallflower than be the center of attention. She wouldn't blow out the candles, even though I had practiced with her beforehand. But her sissies were happy to help her out with that. She wouldn't open her presents, but again, her sissies were more than happy to tear into them. The theme was Rapunzel and she got her own stuffed Rapunzel and some fun princess things. She also got some new books and a big girl booster seat for the car, which she loves!
When I took her to the doctor for her 3-year old checkup, he found that she has a double ear infection and a lot of fluid in her ears! She never complained that her ears hurt and I never saw any signs of it, except for her less-than-pleasant mood. The doctor said he would expect a child with that bad of an infection to be writhing around in pain... guess she has a pretty high pain tolerance. So we started an antibiotic on Tuesday and I can already tell she is feeling better. She is still in the 95th percentile for height and the 75th for weight at her age.
We had a wonderful Christmas, although it flew by too fast! I can barely believe it's already been almost a month since we celebrated. A few of the highlights were...
Avery's own camera
Tatum's Rapunzel wig
and Laney's Rapunzel dress (and cool shades)
We got to spend some time in San Antonio with all of my family. It was nice to just unpack and relax there for most of a week and visit with childhood friends and my family. We also celebrated in Houston with Brian's family. The kids enjoyed lots of play time with their cousins, Tara and Matthew.
Matty & Bo lookin pretty cute in their coon-skin caps!
They have been getting a lot of enjoyment out of their new John Deere. I am glad to have something fun that they can all ride in together. Don't worry - I walk right next to it when Bodie is in it so I can rescue him if he decides he wants out. He is usually pretty happy to sit back there in someone's lap.
We loaded it up and took it to Bear Creek Park on MLK day... they had so much fun driving like maniacs all over those fields. Lots of wide open space is good when teaching a 3-year old how to steer a vehicle. Avery & Tatum took to it right away, but Laney with her timid personality, was very reluctant to even ride in it at first, much less try to drive it herself. But finally right before we were going to load it up and go home, she slid over to the driver seat and with one hand holding mine and the other hand holding the steering wheel, she stepped on the pedal and started zooming along. After a few minutes of helping her steer, she got the hang of it and loved it.
Bodie loves to swing. His little face lights up and he starts kicking his legs and just giggles the whole time.
This little one is definitely a mama's girl, and I absolutely love that about her. She always wants to be within five feet of me wherever we are.
And this one is getting so tall and strong. She is so smart and such a hard worker. And she is still the sunshine that brightens our day.
I look at these faces and I can't thank God enough for these gifts.
We are making some big decisions right now, particularly about our kids' education. It's funny how God gently leads us small step by small step to places we would never have dreamed about just a few steps before. But when you trust Him for one thing, it becomes easier to trust Him for another and another and so on.
I was a working mom just 8 short months ago... I mean a "working outside the home" mom... because honestly I am more of a "working" mom now than I have ever been. Anyway, God opened the door and led us to step out in faith at just the right time and for me to resign and stay home full time. That was a major leap of faith for us. Amazingly, it has worked. It hasn't been easy... we've had to sacrifice things that we still miss terribly and I feel like I deserve a degree in accounting with all the time I spend tweaking our budget to make it work. But we have had the privilege of watching God come through for us over and over and over. Things have just worked out. That's the only way I know how to say it because on paper it makes no sense.
Anyway, now we are feeling like God may be gently nudging us to take another major leap of faith, something we never truly considered and quite honestly terrified me until just recently... homeschooling. Did i really just type that? It still looks a little intimidating to me. But it also looks like the salve that God just might use to heal some aches and discomforts in our family. And I'm getting pretty excited to begin the journey.
I don't know who gave him the necklace to play with, but I'll admit I put the skirt on him... I just couldn't resist how well the red matched his shirt and his rosy cheeks!
This boy lights up our days and brings us all lots of laughter and joy. He is such a cuddly and sweet boy. I just can't say enough about what a gift from God he is to us.
We had all the family meet at Chuy's, her favorite restaurant, for lunch. Then everyone came over to our house for cake and ice cream. She was not in the greatest mood. She naturally has a shy, timid personality. I have learned if I rehearse things with her before they happen, she generally does better, but that is not always the case. So she cried when everyone sang happy birthday to her... I think that is mostly because she doesn't like having everyone's attention on her. She would much rather be a wallflower than be the center of attention. She wouldn't blow out the candles, even though I had practiced with her beforehand. But her sissies were happy to help her out with that. She wouldn't open her presents, but again, her sissies were more than happy to tear into them. The theme was Rapunzel and she got her own stuffed Rapunzel and some fun princess things. She also got some new books and a big girl booster seat for the car, which she loves!
We had a wonderful Christmas, although it flew by too fast! I can barely believe it's already been almost a month since we celebrated. A few of the highlights were...
We got to spend some time in San Antonio with all of my family. It was nice to just unpack and relax there for most of a week and visit with childhood friends and my family. We also celebrated in Houston with Brian's family. The kids enjoyed lots of play time with their cousins, Tara and Matthew.
They have been getting a lot of enjoyment out of their new John Deere. I am glad to have something fun that they can all ride in together. Don't worry - I walk right next to it when Bodie is in it so I can rescue him if he decides he wants out. He is usually pretty happy to sit back there in someone's lap.
We loaded it up and took it to Bear Creek Park on MLK day... they had so much fun driving like maniacs all over those fields. Lots of wide open space is good when teaching a 3-year old how to steer a vehicle. Avery & Tatum took to it right away, but Laney with her timid personality, was very reluctant to even ride in it at first, much less try to drive it herself. But finally right before we were going to load it up and go home, she slid over to the driver seat and with one hand holding mine and the other hand holding the steering wheel, she stepped on the pedal and started zooming along. After a few minutes of helping her steer, she got the hang of it and loved it.
Bodie loves to swing. His little face lights up and he starts kicking his legs and just giggles the whole time.
This little one is definitely a mama's girl, and I absolutely love that about her. She always wants to be within five feet of me wherever we are.
And this one is getting so tall and strong. She is so smart and such a hard worker. And she is still the sunshine that brightens our day.
