First Day for the Brother Bear

Ford is going to Mother's Morning Out at the same school Olivia is doing preschool. It's nice to have a small window of time to run errands without having to load everybody in the car seats. It's just me time, something I haven't had in over 18 months and let me tell you, it is nice!

He wasn't too fond of the first day pictures...

...a group shot eased the pain a bit for him.

I pray they both have great years with their new teachers and new friends. 

Treat Day

Yes, I know. We probably have too many of these but life is short so why not enjoy it. 

Plus, I don't think they really enjoy them at all....(insert sarcasm).

When it comes to sugar, the manners go out the window.

Can we say, Cookie Monster?

Oh my...I would have to say the bottom left picture is one of my all time favorites. He's licking that chocolate goodness off his chops....he must get that from his daddy...

A Little Piece of Glory

Olivia, Ford and I caught a little glimpse of glory last night on the way home from church. I could tell it was going to be a beautiful sunset so we took a little scenic route on the way home. 

We have had a rough couple of days and this sunset gave me such peace. God cares about us so much that He made beautiful things like this sunset for us to enjoy. What a simple reminder that HE is all knowing, in control and loves ME more than my little brain could ever imagine. What a Glorious and Mighty God we serve.

New Beginnings

Olivia's first day of 3-K was today. I seriously don't know where time has gone. Next thing I know we'll be packing her up for college. It just goes by way too fast. 

Our BIG girl (notice the lunch box :).

She also had her first dance lesson of the year this week. 

I would say it went well other than the fact that when I got there to pick her up she no longer had a leotard on. You just never know what to expect with this girl. She keeps us on our toes.

Last Little Hoorah

For the summer's last little hoorah, we invited her most favorite person to go along with us for a little treat day. We started out at the Children's Museum, had lunch at Chickfila, treated ourselves to cupcakes at Gigi's and ended with a little play time at home. To say Olivia was in heaven would be an understatement. An excellent time was had by all.

These Two...

...are two peas in a pod.

...make my heart so full.

...LOVE the library and their FAVORITE is to swing at the park (and to obviously eat crayons for a snack).

...discovered that Borders is a new favorite.

...are BIG trouble. He WILL hold his own one day and poor Sissy better watch out when that day comes.:)

...are always helpers (most of the time, anyway).

...are my snuggle buddies and I couldn't ask for better ones.

Love everything about my two.

Saturday Mornings

Every Saturday morning that we are free and in town we try to think of something fun that the kids would love to do. Since it is scorching hot outside right now the pick for last Saturday was the Children's Museum. I think this is a new favorite spot for our two. They both loved the 3+ hours that we were there and could have stayed another 3 I am sure. 

They had a special Bob the Builder exhibit going on and Bob actually made an appearance. 

I am pretty sure Ford would have taken ol' Bob home with us that day. Sissy saw him from a distance.:)

Peekaboo!

There are tons of toys to play on and with and of course, Ford is most fond of the light up steps.

This camper is almost as cute as ours.:)

Even Daddy decided to partake in the fun. 

Cheers, my darling.

Off to the grocery store.

Looks like their little helper found the bananas at the grocery.

Conquering a Small Mountain

Ford has been delayed in his motor and speech skills so we have been seeing a physical therapist for about 3 months and are about to start speech therapy as well. We have been told he has Sensory Integration Disorder. That just means he has a great deal of trouble processing things that come in from his senses. All babies have this to some degree, it just seems to be delaying Ford in some of his development for whatever reason. We are hoping to get more answers soon and just got a referral to a center that specializes in this.

We pray that God will open the doors that He sees fit to help Ford in the best way possible. We know this was Ford's plan long before he was ever conceived. We love him walking or not walking, talking or not talking.

With that being said, we have been doing LOTS of sensory play. Olivia wants to dive in and play for hours while Ford is crawling as fast as he can to the other side of the room. 

On this day, we body painted with cool whip.

They both had a little snack while painting.;)

Please pray for and with us as we follow God's plan. 

End of Summer Fun

We are winding our summer down and getting prepared to start both Olivia and Ford in Mother's Morning Out two days a week. We have just a few more adventures to take in the last 2 weeks of summer. I HATE to see the summer ending but we are happy to see Fall around the corner. New seasons come with new adventures.

One last splash park visit was in store for these two.

Pizza, picnic and a movie. 

We are trying to teach Ford new words like HAT. They both love their lovies so I couldn't think of a better way to teach H-A-T than with the lovie both now and 3 years ago.:)

 I'm not a kid anymore but I really do try hard to use that childlike imagination. This is all the monsters eating at the lunch table. Olivia thought it was great!

Mister is FINALLY pulling to a stand.

If you drive by our house, don't look too closely for you might see two little naked booties. They both love "nakey nakey" time and honestly I don't blame them.

I am so in love with these two. I have thoroughly enjoyed our summer together. 

Have you heard???

Have you heard that a picture Hays took made the cover of Sports Illustrated???!!!

Couldn't be prouder of and for my man. 

Give him about 10 high fives if you see him around. That's what this deserves plus so much more. 

A Frightening Afternoon

When we got up on Sunday morning to get ready for church we would have never dreamed that we would be spending that night in the hospital with a very sick little boy. But that's exactly where we ended up after a scary afternoon.

Ford woke up that morning extra early with a runny nose and cough and seemed to be a bit more clingy than usual. We decided that Hays would stay home from church with him to let him rest. I came home that afternoon to a baby that was clearly wheezing and working very hard to breathe. We called the after hours clinic and after 2 breathing treatments they sent us on our way. We got home and he was progressively getting worse. They sent us to the ER and after a frightening ride in the car there with a baby that was pale, lethargic and having lots of trouble breathing they gave him 6 breathing treatments back to back as soon as we got there. After a chest x-ray that was clear, they put him on oxygen to keep his O2 stats up and kept us over night to monitor him. We never got a clear answer as to why this happened other than maybe a virus that settled in his chest and kept him from breathing. All I know is that I hope I NEVER have to go through that again.

God truly had and still has His hand of protection over Ford, me and Hays. He was the One watching over us and keeping us safe in the car with a little boy that was barely breathing. I know He directed our every move and was with the doctors as well. To Him be the glory!!!

The sick baby boy. 

This picture truly puts things in perspective for me. A hospital bed with oxygen and an IV is the last place you want your child to be. 

He was just so pitiful. I would have taken his place in an instant if that was possible.

Have you ever tried to keep a one year old busy for over 24 hours in a hospital? It is a tough job and my heart absolutely aches for all the children with illnesses that keep them there for a large majority of their childhood.

He pretty much got whatever his little heart desired. A wagon ride with a stop to get M&M's was just what the doctor ordered. 

I am thankful for all the snuggles and holding time during the hospital stay. 

More so I am thankful for healthy children.