Tuesday, February 5, 2013

You are 8!

William, you are 8!  You are a big boy now!  Really, a big boy!  You are tall.  You got glasses this year and already need new ones :)  You read more than you eat each day.  You read books way above your level and love them.  You love The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit.  You love to snuggle.  You love Lamby.  You love your bunk beds.  You love warm pajamas and comfy clothes.  You still like to dress up in army clothes and play battle.  You have more little tiny army men than anyone I know.  You love to re-enact the Civil War.  You love Ariel and take such good care of her each day.  You like tennis.  You love a good joke.  You come up with your own jokes.  You love to learn.  You love your teacher, Mrs. Martin.  You love your friends, at church and school.  You'd rather watch the school play than be in it.  You still have trouble remembering not to suck on your bottom lip.  You have had a mouth appliance for a few months correcting a  cross-bite you have, and you have been a trooper!  You love to be goofy.  You do really great noises and sound effects.  You love little kids and think they are cute, especially Annalee.  You love animals, but are allergic to many of them, so you have learned to be careful around them.  You love going to the beach.   You love history.  You love forts-real and pretend.  You are sweet and thoughtful and one of the most sensitive people we know. You love your family.  We love our William!  You are 8!

You are 5

Oh, Ms. Lily, you are 5!  You are quite the little lady.  You are prim and proper, yet you are also fun and messy.  You are beautiful.  You love pretty things.  You love princesses and ballet.  You are the best in class at stretching, including the split contest.  You love riding horses.  You love to help and organize situations-you like to run stuff :)  You love your k-4 class and your teacher.  You learn something new each day.  You are very smart in school.  You know how to read small words and you know almost all of your sounds.  You like tennis and running.  You are a fast runner.  You like to do your "exercises" on the playground outside to grow your ab muscles for ballet :)  You are still a picky eater, but have tried so many new foods this year.  You love to encourage.  You love to tell jokes.  You are quick-witted.  You are observant.  There are several people who love to hear you talk-you have a cute speech impediment (we think it's because you started talking so early and so much, you jumped your developmental marks of learning certain sounds :).  You love squinkies.  You love pink and shiny or sparkly things.  You love jewelry.  You notice when people where nice things.  You are a social butterfly around peers and an introvert around adults.  You love Ariel and playing with her.  You have a dimple just like Mommy.  Lots of people think you look just like Mom, and lots think you look just like Dad.  We think you look like us both and look more like Dad the older you get! You like to think about and ask questions about God and Jesus.  You love to play with William and JoJo and don't seem to mind you are the only girl.  You love to go on dates with Daddy.  We love you and are thankful for our sweet Lily!  You are 5!

You Are 3

This is better late than never!!!
Joseph, You are 3!  You are smart, cute, sensitive.  You are a bog boy starting school.  You are not sure about leaving Mommy sometimes, but you brave-up and go anyway.  You are so strong.  You take gymnastics, and although the first 2 weeks you cried everyday, you love it now!  You can flip on the rings and balance better than anybody else in your class.  You love riding horses.  You remind us of William sometimes as you get older.  You are very sweet.  You get Mommy to "pump" some brave (squeeze your hand) to get you ready to do something you don't really want to do.  You stopped sucking your thumb all on your own...you have amazing drive and determination.  You decide things and stick to your decisions.  You love Ariel and she loves kissing your face.  You love to play with Lily and are beginning to play with William more and more.  You don't really love to watch tv.  You'd rather be moving around and seeing what else might be going on.  You love to eat things Mom and dad love, like hummus, beans, pickles, and you try more new foods than William or Lily.  You love Thomas the Train.  You are learning so much in K-3, your numbers and letters.  You love your friends at church and school.  You like to sneak on Lily's dress up high heels and try to do tricks in them, like balancing on things :)  You are daring when it comes to physical feats, but very timid with social situations.  You love your Lily and Bubba and Mommy and Daddy.  You love being the baby and still getting to rock with Mommy.  If you see anyone else with Mommy, you have to be there too!  You love music.  Anytime you hear it, you stop and listen carefully.  You love guitar, piano, all of it! You love to rub and pat people to let them know it is ok, when you sense they are upset.  You are sensitive.  You are special and we love you, Joseph!  You are 3!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Selma 2012 Part 3

The Battle of Selma Grand Ball was Lily's dream come true! William and Joseph really just goofed off, but Lily danced all night! She danced with David and Pop and Nolin.


Lily always wears her yellow ribbon-from "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", Lily's favorite western :)

One of the best parts of the ball is getting to ride the school bus from the campground to Sturdivant Hall.

Pop's hat!
Joseph fell asleep on my lap, not long after this picture!
The Virginia Reel!

Selma 2012 Part 2

Since we had just gotten Ariel, we took her camping with us! We had fun! While we got ready for the ball, Ariel and Joseph bonded :)






Lily was very proud of her dress and hair and of being with Mary Agnes.

Selma 2012 Part 1

Each year, we go to The Battle of Selma. This year, we went and took the Geiger family (minus Soren-he was at college). We had a great time!





The DOG

THIS

is our dog! We have been thinking about getting a dog soon for the kids to enjoy, but had no real plans. A friend at school jokingly asked David if we'd be interested in a sweet Australian Shepherd a friend of hers had. The dog was so good at being a dog, she kept trying to herd the horses on her horse farm, which was getting in the way. The solution was to find her a new home :)

To David's surprise, when he came home to tell me about the conversation and laugh about how crazy that would be, I said we should go look at her and meet her. Our only other dog was David's childhood dog, Sunny. She was an Australian Shepherd and was a great dog, so we figured this would be the breed to go with, having children around!

When we met her, she was very protective of her owner, did not like men (David), and was unsure about the kids, but very good at sensing fear. Getting her home was fun. We went to Walmart and got a collapsible crate to put in the van and she rode all the way. She was very shaky when we got home, but we loved on her a lot! She was used to going inside and outside, and we felt so bad not letting her in, we let her have the front screened porch.

We also had to add a fence, so we went all out and got the white picket fence, which is really cute with our house! The kids love Ariel and her time is now spent herding children, not horses :)