The Beaver Dam

GREAT Day

2012-01-30T16:31:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn and I went to TX Children's Hospital for a check up with her neurosurgeon. Goodness gracious, we are so blessed. He did all the normal exam stuff... checked out her tubing in her tummy (just by feel), did some neuro-exam stuff, looked in her eyes, etc. And she was a CHAMP about it, first time ever not to freak out even a little. :) But the best part was when he put her down and said "Ok, Miss Brooklyn, show me what you can do." She took off running! He looked at me and said "That might be the best work I have ever done." David and I both agree that Dr. Neurosurgeon is a great doctor, but he also lets us know in lots of ways that he thinks so too. This time, I choose to be ok if he is a little arrogant and proud of his work! I mean, really, on Dec 10 and Dec 14, 2008 there were SO MANY people praying for him as he operated on Brooklyn's spine and brain. It is NO WONDER he did his best work on those days!! :) So obviously, we got a great report on her... he again said how amazing she is.... that for a "myelo-kid" (Myelomeningocele), he is just baffled by how well she functions in all areas. God is so good... it is so fun to be her Mommy. :)

He also had some good news for us about her shunt. Back in November, she had an "episode" at preschool that worried all the teachers (including the physician's assistant that works there... so blessed to have her!). She kinda zoned-out one day, was practically non-responsive, just staring at the wall with her head down. At first told her teachers her head hurt and she was tired, then wouldn't tell them anything. Needless to say, I came and got her and we went straight to the hospital to get her shunt checked out. She perked up in the car and started acting better than fine! So, by the time we had her tests done, they all were normal... praise God. Anyways, he told me today that he is 99% sure that she was having a shunt clog that day... the symptoms were just right for one. But that every once in awhile the clog will clear itself, which he assumes happened for Brooklyn. I asked him, "Ok, so now what?" He told me to "breathe a huge sigh of relief and be happy... she avoided surgery." WOW. So, once again, she baffles us!!

So, here is my walking-talking-testimony to the Glory of God in the form of a cutie-pie little 3 year old!! Thank you for your love and continued prayers for her! Isn't she just great?! Isn't God AMAZING?!

Here is her "running running running" tonight while I was cooking dinner. Just did, oh, about 30 laps so far. ;) This is BAREFOOT running, people!!! When her braces and straps and shoes are on... watch out!! :) (and yes, my house is a total wreck today, but my kids are happy and our weekend was great!). Isn't she just great?! Isn't God AMAZING?!

Christmas Eve Cookies

2011-12-24T22:42:00.002-06:00

Sweet Sisters, right before heading to Christmas Eve service at church... which was AMAZING as always. So thankful for our wonderful church!

For the first time in our house, Reagan wanted to leave cookies for Santa. We baked and decorated after church, ate a few, then Reagan got the Big Guy's plate all ready.

She was so excited about this... had to have it just right.

Enter Brooklyn.

Took several big ole bites!

As David is ROLLING and I am trying so hard (unsuccessfully) not to laugh, I am having her put it down... reminding her that "these are Santa's; yours are already in your tummy."

Um, yeah, don't think she liked this plan.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!!

Party Hardy

2011-12-22T00:37:00.001-06:00

I have over 1500 Disney World pictures to tackle.

Best job ever. :)

So before that madness begins, and all the Christmas pictures, guess I should finish up Brooklyn's birthday!!! For the record, if you can't tell, our December has been AMAZING.

Since we left for Disney on B's birthday, we had her party the weekend before with just family and our small group friends. She wanted a Cat in the Hat party, and it was fun for me to plan! She also wanted it at ChuckECheese, and my bank account so didn't. Thus, we went and played there for an hour beforehand with everyone that could make it. Then, back to our house for lunch and party. It was way fun.

Before everyone arrived, I had to take some pictures of the food and decor... so that hopefully someday my children will validate me and be thankful for all the party planning.

Also for the record, it is impossible to find blue cotton candy at the store for the tops of cupcakes when a birthday is in December. It is no where to be found. So, the Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes had no hair. But the kids didn't seem to care...

Amber, thanks SO much for the idea of party favors! They were a hit. Crayon rolls for the littles, marker rolls for the "bigger" kids.

Amie, recognize those tissue paper poms?! I put them to good use.

Excited little Bday Girl... and some running. I absolutely LOVE the ponytails-in-motion. Her shirt (which I didn't get an official picture of her wearing that day... boo) has Thing 1 and Thing 2... says "Wait 'til you see my NEXT trick!" SO perfect for our little rockstar!!! David and I bought it for her in Florida last summer, having no idea this would be her party theme. Perfect. :)

She sat with her hands like this for the entire time that we sang to her. :)

Yep, the kids liked the red velvet cupcakes even without the blue hair.

Even baby Etta!!

Present-time!!

Thank you hugs to Sister.

Can you tell she had A LOT of help opening her presents?!

We gave her this tent and new pillow cases for her new big girl bed. The tent helps her stay in and on the bed... she loves it and it gives me comfort for getting her out of her crib. Win win. Happy girl!

Can't Believe She's THREE!

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

I am pretty sure it was... um... yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. Seriously.

How all of the sudden my BABY is turning THREE is beyond me.

It has been an amazing third-year-in-the-life-of-Brooklyn, one where I sit back and look at the last twelve months and just MARVEL. Actually, the last 36 months. God is carrying His Good Work on to completion everyday with her, and it is my absolutely privilege to watch and be a part of it. Truly!

A year ago, Brooklyn could speak one syllable. ONE. Six months ago, she started forming more and more syllables. Today, she talks in full paragraphs. Take THAT, you silly appraxia! (she does still sign occasionally. I sign TO her a lot, just so she'll remember it.) Last Monday, she officially graduated from speech therapy... which leave us THERAPY-FREE. Unreal! I don't think I ever posted this: back in October, she had her official testing for PPCD, the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities, with the school district here. (Since she was two months old, she has been in a therapy program called Early Childhood Intervention, or ECI. At age three, kids age-out of ECI into PPCD.) Kids like Brooklyn with spina bifida or other special needs get to go to preschool and receive therapies at the same time. BUT NOT MY BROOKIE! Her testing was over 2 hours, and she tested at age level or above in ALL categories... including gross-motor skills and speech!!! And the only thing that counted against her in gross-motor was that she has to have the braces to keep her legs straight. :) The testing coordinator came up to me afterwards and said, "Well, Mom, we won't be seeing you again here... she rocked it." Music to my ears. So, she will keep going to preschool she loves, and should start Kindergarten in 2 1/2 years just like every other kid her age!

Potty training is something we aren't ready to tackle, but maybe this summer. She does recognize that her peers are starting to go potty, so she asks to "potty" a lot . Thankfully that can mean sit on the seat, fully-clothed, and she is thrilled with it! She'll tell her teachers when she's "done" and goes about her day. :) As for now, it doesn't seem to bother her one bit that she still wears diapers, so we'll stick with what works for awhile. This may prove to be her biggest challenge eventually, but we'll see when the time comes.

In August, we ditched the pacifier for sleeping. This past week, we moved B into her big girl bed. She sleeps in a princess tent, just like sister, that she got for her birthday (for this purpose!). She still loves her Purple, and she also has a special place in her heart for Elephant and Minnie. Her favorite food, besides ice cream and cake, is fruit of ANY kind. Her favorite song is Blues Skies And Rainbows, but she loves to sing just about anything (except when I ask her to on command!). She is proving to be quite the little comedian... I think she definitely has her Daddy's quick wit. She absolutely LOVES making people laugh, and she's darn good at it. She's sharp as a tack and never misses a THING, plus, at three, is really starting to try my patience for the first time ever. :) I'm totally ok with it, it's age appropriate.... meaning her little brain is working like it should and she's right on track! The doc says to remind myself that when she ACTS like a two/three year old, to be GLAD. I'm working on it. But it is hard to be frustrated for long since she knows exactly how to make me smile again. :)

I'm reminded every single day that God has huge plans for our Brooklyn Hope. Shoot, the doctors thought she would never BE here, and just look at her! BIG PLANS! She is pure joy, delight, and Life personified, and I am so blessed to be her Mommy. She's changed me, the way I look at the world. And I'm better in countless ways because of her.

I love you to bits, Doodle Bug.

Happy Birthday!

Her third year in pictures:

January, just starting walking

February

March, signing "strawberry" at the patch

April

May

June

July

August

September, her first day ever of school

October

November

December, in her new bed

Brooklyn's continued story is your story too, if you are reading this. You've prayed for her, blessed her beyond measure. Thank you for being a part of who she is becoming.

Happy Birthday, sweet baby girl!

Her actual birthday post

Her first birthday post

Her second birthday post

Caddo Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-06T14:18:00.001-06:00

It was a Caddo year for Thanksgiving for us, and it was absolutely fabulous. The weather was PERFECT, the kids played so well together, the food was good, and our teams won by field goals! All in all, greatness.

My parents have put this trailer out there for us to stay in when we go. Here are the girls playing on Reagan's bunk the first night we arrived. We stay in the lap of luxury! I love this picture.

Brooklyn got to do LOTS of bonding with lots of folks, especially Adam. She and Uncle Amoo had some great times together... many of them out on the "bridge."

Corbin and Brady. :)

Can't hardly see it, but B is holding a "drum" stick and playing her "drums."

Brady was just chillin' here by himself for a bit, looking cute. :) I think he got annoyed at me, though, for snapping his picture over and over!

The lake was the lowest anyone had ever seen. The kids LOVED it, though. They had all this extra room to play in, out amongst the trees that are usually in water. Made their own little "clubhouse" next to this big one. It was their rubber-boots paradise. ;)

More drums. Sitting down this time.

And showing off her mad skills to her drummer-uncle.

Some of the big kids out at the "clubhouse." For those that know Caddo, I was standing next to the fish sink on the pier when I took this photo, facing the left. All dry land. So weird.

The "club" was the Tomboy Frog Club (?). There were oaths that had to be said to join, as well as hold a baby frog in your hands for 30 or so seconds. Here, Thibaut is being sworn in!!

Silly Cason! Those McAdams boys were not fans of my camera.

I. Love. This. One. Crazy kids.
Adley, Reagan, Abby, Corbin, Cason, and Emma

Reagan talked her Daddy into taking off the training wheels of the bike so she could give it a whirl. The ground there is CERTAINLY not the best for learning to ride, but she gave it some good tries! Not quite ready yet, though. It was fun regardless!! Of course, the tongue sticks out the whole time...

Sweet Adley anticipating a Brooklyn-hug...

Brady, however, TOTALLY learned how to ride without training wheels while we were there!!!

FUN!!!! Thanks, Aunt Missy!!!!

Adam's turn helping out. Sucka. :) I love how she is totally posing for my camera and Adam is doing all the work!

Corbin on the ramp. Surely I caught this AFTER he got lots of air.

Adley's turn on the big bike. There was lots of bike time.

I guess Adley was trying to get Brooklyn into the club. I can't BELIEVE she talked her into holding that frog in her hands! If you see this one up close, you can tell Brook wasn't a fan... but she was trying to be brave!

Adley handing out frogs all around...

The Big Boys and a game of washers. There was TONS of laughter during this game... not sure what about, but it was fun to hear.

Lowe Ann but and boiled a bunch of cypress knees (this whole post sounds so redneck... I love it!) for all the kids. Reagan REALLY got into peeling hers. She loves that thing... her Caddo souvenir.

What was I saying about redneck?! After it warmed up a bit... I ventured out towards the clubhouse to find my child looking like this:

When Ad saw my camera, she hit this pose and said "Did you get my good side?!!" I was laughing so hard, I can't believe this picture is in focus!

Action shot! There was no hook on her line, just a weight. She had no idea. Works great for me!

These girls had a blast together. Makes me so happy.

Beautiful Adley.

She never ceases to amaze me... plays so good with ALL the kids. (although she evidently was the instigator of the "tinkle tree!" Way too reminiscent of when we were little!!) Here she is hanging out with Brady.

Then, Brady fell from his seat like this! And she bailed! I was so happy to get it on camera!! He was laughing SO HARD!

Granna leading a fantastic game of Simon Says by the fire that night. So funny!! Even Brooklyn played, and seemed to really get it.

Nothing like a good East Texas Lake Thanksgiving!

So glad my girls get to grow up with these memories!

Kindergarten Thanksgiving Celebration

2011-11-18T13:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Reagan's Kindergarten Thanksgiving program. All 120 Kindergarteners were up on stage and sang 11 songs together. They also passed the microphone around to each kid and they got to say one thing they are thankful for. Lots of "Mommy", "toys", "my teacher", "my friends", etc. So sweet. My precious kiddo said "GOD." Made me cry. Here she is waving at me when she found me in the crowd of parents.

She also was chosen for a speaking part between songs:

"Thanksgiving time is almost here... let's give a great big cheer!"

It was way cute with her speech impedement... she still can't say her Rs. :)

I got it on video, but it is 30 minutes long... not gonna post here.

Here's her friend Will who also got to say a line. Cutie.

My little turkey.

Still smiling it up while the girl in front of her... was not. Poor baby.

Then we Room Moms presented their Thanksgiving Feast in their classroom. Here are the Mayflower centerpieces (my friend's idea). Totally lost on the 5 year olds, but the grownups liked them!

R's placemat.

The FEAST.

Silly goose.

I love my job.

Angelic

2011-11-17T21:23:00.000-06:00

I leaned in to kiss my 5 year old goodnight; as she lovingly held my cheeks in her precious hands, she informed me that "when I hold you like this, Mommy, you look just like a bulldog."

That one had to be documented, of course.

Highlight of Our Day

2011-11-12T22:10:00.000-06:00

Rainbows are way cooler when you have little girls. They were just giddy!

Reagan said, "Unicorns aren't real. But if I WAS a unicorn, I could ride on that rainbow."

And that is reason 2,987 why I love my life. :)

Bless Her Heart

2011-11-03T13:27:00.002-05:00

I don't mean that title in a Southern "bless her heart" sort of way, but in a literal sense. Today I am praying for God to bless my little Reagan's tender heart. I have to write down this story so I have it to tell her later, reminding her of God's continued work in her little 5 year old self.
~
A few weeks ago, Reagan told me about a classmate of hers named Ryan. That she really liked Ryan, thought he was a fun kid, but that other kids didn't seem to like him. She said "Ryan is bigger than everyone else, and everyone calls him 'fat.'" I asked her how she thought that made Ryan feel, and she told me, "he always seems to laugh about it, so it must be ok." We talked then about how it made me wonder how Ryan felt on the inside... she decided that maybe he wasn't laughing inside. So... I began the process of passing down the talk that my Granddaddy gave my Daddy, and my Daddy gave to me, about seeking out those kids that have no friends... being nice to the kid that no one is nice to... reminding her that Jesus thinks everyone is special and needs to be loved. AND, God made her a very friendly kid who gets along with lots of people... maybe she could be Ryan's close friend.

So, she comes home from school THAT DAY all excited.

"Mommy, we got new tables today. And GUESS WHO is now sitting next to me at my table?! RYAN!"

I don't find that a coincidence. :)

So, she talks about Ryan a lot. Not sure how the other kids are treating him, hasn't come up lately, but I know that he and Reagan are friends. And that makes me smile.

This morning, while I was frantically fixing her hair because we have like 90 seconds before we had to leave for school, she tells me, "Mommy, Ryan told me yesterday that he doesn't believe in Jesus. He doesn't believe in God either. Doesn't believe in ANYTHING." I asked her what they were talking about when he told her this, and she just said she said something about church and how she loves Jesus, and then he offered that he didn't believe any of that stuff. I panicked. I totally did. Do I want my 5 year old and her five year old faith to be the bible beater at school!? How does that even work!? What do I tell her to say!? We don't even have time to talk about this, we're running late! I totally am not prepared for this conversation! Blah blah blah... so I ask her if we can pray for Ryan right now, and in true Reagan-fashion, she says "SURE." So, I held her hands and we prayed that God would find special new ways to show himself to Ryan. That Ryan would someday soon realize that God is the true God and Jesus is His Son. And that Reagan could be a good friend and example to Ryan. I finish the prayer, and she says, "Cool. Thanks, Mom." And she just goes about her business to get to school.

Man, what amazing lessons I learn from this whole Mommy-gig. He put a tender heart in my Reagan... a heart that is being molded and shaped to love others. Lord, today and everyday, I thank you for loving me enough to make me her Mommy. Thank you for the chance to pray with her for her friends... and help me to be expectant of more times like today. Precious moments where I have no other ideas or not enough time or whatever it may be, and I am forced to just pray. Thank you for sitting Ryan next to her so that they could have this conversation... and she could bring it to me... and we could bring it to You. I am so humbled and so thankful. Please Lord, continue to draw Reagan closer to you each day, grow her faith.

She is just so beautiful, inside and out. Bless her little heart.

HALLOWEEN!

2011-11-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!

It's so much fun!

We had a great time

With Thing2 and Thing1!

Our cousin, Brady, was The Cat in The Hat. So of course, we had to take some photos. As he hugged them for the pic he said, "Come here, my little helpers!"

Reagan's BFF from school, Amory. Little 50's diner waitress!

Outside at the carnival, they had this long, bouncy, obstacle race thing. Reagan eagerly hopped in line, and I wasn't real sure how it was gonna go over... she was the smallest kid doing it.

And this is at the very end... climbing the wall to slide down. Notice, she is totally kicking the hiney of that other big boy she raced against. Now, OF COURSE it is not all about winning... but wow. :)

BIG HUGS for Melissa. Brooklyn LOOOOOOVES Melissa. :) I'm sure Melissa equally loved getting up close and personal with Brooklyn's cotton candy mouth...

One of Brooklyn's other favorite people ever... her teacher, Mrs. Allison. She would gladly trade me in for either of these ladies, for sure. :)

This was the Mad Scientist show at the carnival. B was a little freaked out at first, so I was talking her into how "silly" it was. I personally love Reagan and Brady in the top left... Brady thinks it's hilarious and Reagan is trying not to freak out. :)

This was Thursday at preschool for their party and costume parade. Brooklyn was WOWed by Nathaniel's Thomas costume, and Nathaniel didn't really recognize Brooklyn at all. :)

I loved just seeing her at play in her classroom!

My baby girl and me.

I put this one not because it is a great picture, per se, but because a few months ago Brooklyn could not sit herself in a chair like this! Now, no sweat. Again, TAKE THAT Spina Bifida!

Getting ready to decorate pumpkins.

Yummy SPOOKY breakfast food!

Her sweet friends Batgirl and Leo. :)

Goober.

Best shot of Brooklyn EVER.

There, that's better.

Her brave teacher gave her glitter...

This one makes me happy because of the look of PURE JOY and AWE Brooklyn has for Mrs. Allison.

Her class! Minus one girl that was sick.... Brooklyn LOVED the Leo costume the most. Still talking about it.

Brook's other teacher extraordinaire... Mrs. Kristen. Whose head I accidentally cut off in this picture..... sorry!

Natalie and Nathaniel in the parade

Check out Brook's excitement over this trick or treat stop in the parade!

Yesterday while R was at school, Brooklyn got her turn to paint a pumpkin. She still shows ambidexterity... not sure which hand will prevail.

She was SO into her painting. Kept telling me "I gonna paint circles round and round and round, K?!" But the entire thing was covered in these lines when finished... so pretty. :)

Trick or Treating!

Ran out of blue spray, so we just went with the feathers. Made for MUCH easier clean up last night... bonus. Good times for this Momma: one of the men that came to the door with candy asked them to wait so he could get his wife to come see how cute they were. :)

Caught Reagan mid BUST on these steps! :) :) :) She was fine.

Brooklyn didn't bust... they were just too steep with no rail to hold, so crawling up was necessary. Who woulda thought my little SB kiddo would be climbing steps to front porches and trick or treating at 2 years old?! God is so good.

Pat the pumpkin before we go...

And random... last night, B was drinking some juice while I changed her diaper and dropped the cup on her right eye. Tried to get a pic of her first semi-black eye, but you can't really see it. It definitely looks nice and purple today!

Hope everyone enjoyed the festivities as much as we did!!
How in the WORLD is it November already?!
Reagan asked me this morning, "Why did October leave so fast?!"

If Anyone Reads This Anymore...

2011-10-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

I started doing some collecting, and maybe you can help.

Anytime you go to a hotel, or get a "free gift" with purchase at Macy's, receive a free toothbrush and toothpaste after a good cleaning, or have those samples in the mail...

SAVE THEM.

And send them my way.

I am starting to put together goodie bags of UNOPENED travel sized toiletries and/or cosmetics to give to moms at the Ronald McDonald House. There are countless times that a family ends up at TX Children's Hospital (where Brooklyn was at birth) and has to stay with a sick child unexpectedly. And most of those times, the parents didn't have time to pack a bag! So, when the RMH takes them in to stay the night at the hospital, I hope to supply them with goodie bags with toiletries, cosmetics, or both. At least that way, they can take a relaxing shower and feel good during a rough situation.

So, let me know if you can help!

And if you need to ship something, I'll pay for the shipping. Just let me know. Or if in the DFW area, my parents can collect for me (right, Mom??!!).

Ok, that's all. Happy Friday!!

Procrastination

2011-10-24T22:33:00.001-05:00

I have a million and one things to get done today.

Instead I am uploading pics and blogging. :)

My nephew, Jonathan, day of the TX/OU game. Cutie pie was LOVING his easy access to the popcorn bowl...

If you know David's brother, James, then you KNOW this is his kid. Holy moly, such his Mini Me.

The bigger kids having their own lunch. After several attempts, this is the best shot I got of the three of them. :)

Last week, Reagan got a random Tuesday off of school because her school was having a power outage. Her bff from school came over to hang out while her mom (Brooklyn's preschool teacher) was at work. So, it was just me and the two big girls all day! Easy peesy!

Can you tell they were busy?!

Thanks for coming over, Amory!

This week, Reagan had a planned day off on Monday. It feels like forever since I got to just take them on some sort of outing, just the 3 of us. So, with the nice weather, we hit the zoo.

Big sister whispering something of importance in Little Sis's ear. I'm sure if was some stellar fact about the coral reef...

Brook's pants are supposed to be capris.... had to state that for the record.

When we are at the zoo, I seem to come home with mostly pictures of their backsides... oh well, still cute. :)

There we go!!!

Our zoo has built a new huge home for the elephants. We had not seen this pool before, and it was really cool to watch the two babies swimming and playing together!!! Reagan thought it was SO cool that they swim totally underwater... but stick their trunks out like a snorkel to breathe! Who am I kidding?.... I think it's cool too.

Lunch!

My blue eyed girlie sports this color really well, I think... :)

My other beautiful blue eyed girl...

Reagan had never used this water fountain before, and it was throwing her for a loop. I love this progression of pictures... not sure if she is scared of it or just trying to figure out how it works. Funny to me, either way!

And lastly, here is the (scanned in... so not as great as the print) picture from B's preschool on Pumpkin Patch picture day. They did a good job avoiding her CHEESE smile!

She looks WAY TOO MUCH like a little girl and not enough like a baby!!! Ugh... baby girl growing up like crazy on me...

October is SB Awareness Month

2011-10-11T19:53:00.002-05:00

Spina Bifida Awareness: You should be aware that having a child with SB may cause increased motivation to help others, a newfound perspective in times of trial, a desire to enjoy the little things, and a commitment to change the way the world defines "disability." Studies show that raising a child with SB will induce strong feelings of gratitude for even the simplest of milestones and produce a willingness to do anything, talk to anyone, try any method necessary to make life better for your child. Side effects include feelings of worry, fear, uncertainty, and anger but are tempered with love, faith, determination, and hope. Having a child with SB is not easy... but loving one is!!

All strapped in for a head CT.

In case anyone was not AWARE, we love our Brookie Brook to bits. :)

Happy SB Awareness month to all!

Some Recent Stuff

2011-10-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

Found Brooklyn like this last week playing on my iTouch...

Love that little eye peeking at me!

Reagan came home from school and took Brooklyn on a "camping trip." Consists of packing their backpacks full of toys, dressing like this?, and marching around the house.

I love this picture not only because she is just stunning, but it shows how for about the first two hours she is awake in the mornings, her face is so swollen from sleep. :)

This is B's new favorite way to sleep. No idea.

Last week right before church. This was a horrible day for Cowboy fans... sheesh. But dang, my kids looked cute!

Last Friday, on their way to DonutsWithDad at school. Again, Reagan's face still puffy.

A Little Bit of R

2011-09-24T13:12:00.000-05:00

Silvermist, the Water Fairy

~ Reagan is NOT good at saving her money. It burns a hole right through her pocket in seconds. But she informed me the other day that after she saves enough money for this Strawberry Shortcake doll she has been wanting, she would like to then save for a trombone. Really, a trombone?! So I reply,
   "OH! That's cool. You want to learn to play the trombone?"
   "Mom, I already know how to PLAY one. I just need to BUY one. You just go like this! (as she is sliding her arm back and forth in front of her body)

~ Reagan and I walk to school together every morning, have since the beginning. (now that David has started working downtown, we take B with us in the stroller. It's nice girl-time!) We walk down this long sidewalk under the trees, then around the sidewalk that borders the circle-drive in front of the school. Last week while we were walking the circle-drive, she rattled off something that made my inner calculus teacher REALLY happy:
   "Mommy, you know what I noticed?? When we were back there on THAT sidewalk, this one looked curved. But now that we got up to it and are walking on it, our steps are still straight! Huh."
   Then we were back to normal morning-routine-chatter. Just mentioned that little bit of info randomly and matter-of-factly. (FYI, calculus is fundamentally about taking straight lines and putting them together at different slopes to form a curve.) She's no genius, but I thought that was some pretty good thinking for a 5 year old first thing in the morning!

~ R got the very first progress report of her life this past week. Got an E for Excellent in every academic category and behavior category. WAY TO GO, Reagan! And she is working really hard on spelling words. I think if she sat down and actually tried to read a whole book, she could do it by herself. But, she just doesn't seem that into it. But she LOVES to write. Will sit and write out an entire paragraph to go with a picture she drew. Now... it is nowhere NEAR close to spelled right, but she writes it phonetically how she says it. And with her speech impedements, it gets really interesting sometimes! But she loves it, and we love it. And, I write her a note everyday in her lunch, and she has started writing me a note back sometimes and putting it in there for me to find. Precious. I've saved a few... like I (heart) LUV YOO TO MOMMY. (heart) REAGAN

~ And please say a little prayer for R... every morning of last week she went in to school in tears. Not sure what the deal is with that, and I am not sure HOW to deal with that. For 3 years, she has always loved school, but this week she has not wanted to go. David and I think it is a combination of things... the new-ness has definitely worn off, she's young for a kinder-kid, academically the work just isn't that interesting to her yet, and she misses being home. She's cried every morning at the door that she misses me and doesn't ever get to spend enough time with me anymore. Be still my heart. Now, she still is all-smiles when I pick her up, so she IS enjoying it. But, it's been really hard on her lately to WANT to go. I want her to love school, and she will, but we're praying for some sort of "spark."

Sweet Big Sister, playing babies in the tent

So proud of my sweet, silly, smart big girl!

My Baby Isn't a Baby Anymore

2011-09-08T14:36:00.002-05:00

Grrr.... blogger deleted this post originally for some reason, so I had to start over. That is my official excuse that I am just now posting her first day of school 2 days later.

Tues was Brooklyn's first ever day of school, and let me tell you, she was SO EXCITED.

"I ready to school now! I ready to school now!"

Funny faces during our photo shoot.

?????

We got in the door, and she looks at me... "Mommy, mark.... set.... RUN!" So, this is our running to class!

She had NO problems. Went straight in and hit the dress up box!

Picture with my big girl and her CHEESE face!

I had no problems either. Of course, I miss her when she is at school. And I miss her being a baby. But, David and I both agree that the girls are getting so big and so fun, that we woudn't go back! I love babies, but I LOVE my big kids! So, no tears about school. But I did have a "happy tears" moment in the car just because... hello, I just dropped my 2 year old with spina bifida off at PRESCHOOL. With no walker, no real speech concerns, no caths, no meds, no WORRIES, just normal 2 year old!! 3 years ago, during all the gloom and doom of the pregnancy, this seemed absolutely impossible. Such an overwhelmingly WONDERFUL feeling today! I am so happy for her and feel so blessed.

Then, came our wonderful day! David doesn't start the new job for a week and a half, so we had 5 hours just US. We had breakfast at one of our favorite places (BBQ brisket tacos... pure heaven) on the patio with 75 degrees and a breeze that almost made me cold. Drank coffee and watched espn on the screens outside. THEN we went to drive some minivans because Mommy needs new wheels. It was SUCH a glorious day.

This was Brooklyn today for school, wearing the same outfit Reagan wore on HER FIRST DAY of preschool when she was two. Brooklyn is 7 months older here than Reagan, but I just love comparison pics.... couldn't help but put them together. (R looks SO little!)

Speaking of R... Brooklyn has gotten a lot of "press" lately, so I will make up for it and do a Reagan post next. :) For now, things are awesome at the BeaverDam. Girls love school, transition is going well!! :)

Brooklyn Tales

2011-08-31T14:35:00.000-05:00

I was in the kitchen while Brooklyn was at the table eating her lunch.

I hear, "Mommy, I TOOTED. I DID! And it STINKS!!"

5 minutes later...

"Mommy, I BUPPED (burped)! And that's so FUNNY!!"

She is her father's daughter.

The end.

Talking Videos!!

2011-08-31T00:04:00.002-05:00

I think I've got these to work using youtube. Blogger evidently finds my videos unacceptable.

Here are the ones that were SUPPOSED to be on the previous post!!! :)

Couple of things:

1) Most of my videos of conversations with B take place while changing her diaper or her clothes. She knows it all takes awhile, with her velcro straps and everything, and it is the most still she is all day. We have our little chats, and I love it. Thus, she has no clothing on in these... mid-wardrobe change. :)

2) She still has to work REALLY hard to get her words out. It does NOT come naturally to her, and she really has to THINK about forming her words with her mouth and getting them out. In therapy, we break EVERYTHING down with syllables and work slowly and carefully. She works so hard! But that is why it amazes me so much when she does just talk... she can use those little muscles to make her words come out at a pretty quick pace even though it is really hard and doesn't work the same as for you and me. So, you'll see her mess up some words and say them over and over again until they come out right for her... part of her "thinking" process that we see so much in her speech.

3) EVERY TIME I get the video camera out, she asks to "see it." She wants to watch on the screen. So I am constantly moving her hands away to keep her from taking it from me! Especially when she is cranky and tired. Sorry.

4) In the last one, she has a green lovely bruise in between her eyes and oreos from dinner all over face. NICE.

And yes, I did take a video of Reagan "dancing" when this was over... good grief. :)

All Brookie Brook

2011-08-30T00:17:00.001-05:00

It's time for a good ole fashioned Brooklyn Update. And y'all, I never get tired of these... because the good news with her just keeps on coming! We went a couple of weeks ago for her 6 month check up with SB clinic in Dallas, and this past week she had her 6 month evaluation with ECI. So, we've gotten plenty of "updating" done around here... thought I would pass the info along. I have videos to post too, but blogger will NOT upload them. No idea, but hopefully it'll work tomorrow. And please forgive... this is just plain bragging. But I know no one cares because it is all PRAISE WORTHY, and none of the praise goes to me!!! :)

Physical Therapy - Brook has been getting PT at least once a week since she was 2 months old. Her therapist, Cheryl, moved out of the country (WE MISS YOU CHERYL!!)... so we have taken a little hiatus from PT for the summer while they found replacements, etc. Plus, sweet girl started gymnastics and was LOVING it, so we figured that would do for now. Well, with her eval, the new PT thought Brooklyn was amazing. Pretty much caught up to age level with her gross motor skills. There are a few things that are a little "off" (she has to hold onto something to actually get "air" when she jumps, has to go much slower on stairs, that kinda thing), but they are ALL to be expected, and ALL getting better. So, for now, she is graduated from PT!!! Good night, this is pretty much unheard of for a L4 SB kid (that is the vertebrae where her defect was on her spine)! They think the gymnastics thing is GOLDEN for her... gets balance skill development, trampoline, core muscles, etc... along with social interaction with peers, teachers, that stuff. So, we will see what they think when she has her next eval when she is almost 3, but for now, no more PT!! Amazing. God is so good.
Speech - Again, amazing. Her progress with her speech is nothing short of baffling to me. A little less than 4 months ago, she could say 5 words: "Mom," "pop," "map," "oomf (oops)", "ow." EVERYTHING else, she could/would only sign. As of today, she talks like a 2 year old. It's awesome. Now, her speech is often that 'toddler-talk'... where she may leave out a consonant or two, leaves out small words in sentences, and maybe I have to translate so others can understand. But honestly, last week at her eval... the therapist had never met B before, and she could TOTALLY understand her language. She was amazed. B talks all day, she sings ALL DAY, she tells Knock-Knock jokes :) constantly, she now calls me "Mommy Beaver Missy Pants" or "Mommy Silly Goose", she can count to 20 (although the last few numbers all sound like "us-teen, un-teen, un-teen, ine-teen, tunny!") .... it has been a busy and remarkable 4 months!! I could go on and on and ON about how thankful we are about this, but I will just say this: several months ago, I was DREADING her going to preschool in Sept. Mostly because she could only sign, her teachers would have to learn her language, she couldn't talk to make friends... I was so very very anxious about it all. Now, there is basically NOTHING that separates her from her peers. Sure, her speech is still a little "off" because she is just barely learning this new skill, but it will be a cinch, and she gets so much better EVERYDAY. I have NO WORRIES! She is way better today than the videos even show, and some were just last week! (hopefully I can load them tomorrow... sheesh!) Amazing. God is so good. (even Reagan will say "God really REALLY heard my prayers, Mommy, and helped Brooklyn learn to talk!! It's just so great!!!" Melt my heart.... so thankful.)
Potty - Basically, we aren't doing anything in the potty-training dept for at least another year. Her SB has definitely affected her bowels and bladder, and it is still undetermined as to how much exactly. Sweet girl still poops all day long, but the doctor said he isn't ready to do anything about it unless it is a problem for me, which it isn't (except we go through a ton of diapers, but we will soon get those paid for... yay!). We are still not cathing her, and she is still off all meds except for some OTC laxatives... so all that is GREAT. She has had a few UTIs since we went off antibiotics, but her urologist is not ready to put her back on... just yet. He said if she gets another infection, then we might re-test and see what her bladder is looking like. But for now, diapers are our friend, and we're cool with that. When she is bigger, we'll see if the potty is an option. God is so good.
Spirit - Ok, enough talk about her physical development. :) I have to write down for my own sake about the sweet spirit God has given Brooklyn. She is Just. So. SWEET. I mean sure, she has her defiant moments like any two year old, but for the most part, she is just SWEET. She will hug anyone to death. And we walk down the halls at the hospital, or church, or wait in the pick-up line at Reagan's school... and she is waving emphatically at every individual in sight... "HI GUYS!! HI!! GOOD MORNING!!! GOOD MORNING, GUYS!!" And those other moments where she does get in trouble, she is SO remorseful. It hardly ever has to go beyond a stern voice or stern look from me, and she melts to pieces... "SORRY MOMMY!!" Now, doesn't mean she is always repentant!! She'll go right back and do things again. :) But it doesn't take much to bring her back. I pray she is always this sweet-spirited. (side note, the other day she got a spanking for the first time in forever. Found out that when she is crying that hard, she will go RIGHT back into signing so she can "talk" to me and cry at the same time. :) It was awesome. My little bilingual child.) God is so good.
Thoughts - More stuff to write, kinda for my own sake. I say all the time how FUN it is to be Brooklyn's Mommy! It is. We go to doctors and specialists, and they are BAFFLED by her. We go to hospitals, schools, church, etc, and she draws a crowd. It is fun to be her Mommy, and my response is always "she is one prayed-for little girl." Which is beyond true, and we are forever thankful. However, I will never know really WHY God chose to answer our prayers for her... it is very humbling. We are in constant contact with other kids with lots of needs that are JUST as prayed over as she is, but they struggle with way more than she does. As crazy as it sounds, I find myself in those situations trying to down-play how great she is doing or even apologize for her success. I ramble... point is, we do not know the Big Picture, but WE ARE GRATEFUL. I look forward to each day as God's plan for our family unfolds, and I marvel at His Goodness and Mercy.

Just a few pictures to finish up the post:

A couple of weeks ago, when my parents were in town. Grandmommy was reading Reagan a bedtime story, and Brooklyn was getting lovin' from Granddaddy. LOVE her face!

A rare moment. They both zonked out. :)

Excuse the mess..... She walked up to me, holding my ipod, told me to "Sit, peez. Wite here." I immediately sat down, she backed her little hiney up to me and lay down like this and started playing a game on my ipod. We sat like this together for awhile....

While Reagan was at her first day of Kinder, B had a day of "firsts" as well. Asked for her toenails and fingernails to be painted. I had never done this for her before, so it was fun. :) Check out those sweet feet!!! (fyi, B has feet that are rather underdeveloped... has since birth. very normal for a SB kid. she still can wear size 6-12 month socks!! her little toes are LITTLE, so her toenails are even LITTLER. it was a feat to get the paint on those little toesies!) Everytime her shoes and socks come off, she yells "TOENAILS!! YAAAAY!"

Light pink on the fingers... can't tell as much when it chips. :)

Also, this day was one of those days where I wanted to just EAT up my children and give them those hugs where you have to tense up your arm muscles to keep from literally squeezing them too tight?! Know those days?! Anyways, had to take her picture in her pigtails as a result... but these were the best I got. :)

Nowadays, she ALWAYS has to take a "funny face" picture.

CHEESE!

My attempt to "embrace the camera" with self-portraits. Again, the best I got.

How I love this girl! And enjoying our one on one time these days, even if we do really miss Reagan!

First Day of Kinder

2011-08-22T13:55:00.000-05:00

I told David this morning (through some mega-tears that I did a FABULOUS job hiding from my eldest) that I am so happy for her, just so sad for me. I can't believe how fast August 22, 2011 has come. Seriously. And I also know that we will BOTH love that she is in school... just not for me, today. Maybe tomorrow.

Brook had to get her happy self in the picture this morning. Poor baby sister, walking around the house all morning, "Where Ray-gun Bee-vuh go?!"

So happy!

So sassy!! :)

Little kid + big backpack = such cuteness.

Makes me cry just looking at it.

Her teacher, Ms. Croft! SO HAPPY to see her this morning! (more on that in a minute...)

Found her seat....

Found a pink crayon, off to work. :) She had one TINY "moment" as she blew me a kiss as we left... I could see it in her eyes. But I know she is LOVING it!

Have to write this down to remember it... for when B is going to school and I have another freakout, I can remember the calm that was brought to me this morning. :)

On Thurs, we were SUPPOSED to go meet the teacher, see her classroom, etc. Found out when we got there that they needed another section of Kinder, and were going to have to interview and TRY to hire someone in 2 days. And.... of course Reagan was placed in the new teacher's class.

So, we didn't get to meet her teacher or see her classroom. They told us they might even have a sub for the first few days, not sure. I was a WRECK. The thought of taking her in, not even know who I was going to be leaving her with, wondering if they would just hire some crappy teacher that was unemployed for a REASON... all of that was making me so nervous.

I told her yesterday that I was going to spend ALL day Sunday praying about Kindergarten... praying for her day to be great, praying for her new teacher, her new friends... that it would all just be perfect. She says, "well, you can pray if you WANT TO, but you don't have to, Mommy. I'm NOT scared, I'm really EXCITED!" Annnnnnnnnnd, God gave me my answer. Awesome.

So, still nervous but trying to be trusting, we take her this morning. And my prayers were answered... again. They DID hire a new teacher, and she was there waiting for us. In an adorable room all decorated in lime green with brown owls and pink flowers. She's young, adorable, enthusiastic, so obviously happy to be there, and had to have worked her tail off over the weekend to get everything ready. Put my heart right at ease... thank you Lord. We brought her a candy bouquet for a gift... never hurts to suck up a bit. :)

So, it is quiet around here. REALLY quiet. Brooklyn is asleep (still have to try and figure out naptime schedule for her... sheesh!), and I am so ready for 3:15. I realized I forgot to pack her drink in her lunch... CRAP!!! Didn't want her to be thirsty on her first day! So, had to drive back up there and ask them to deliver it to her. *sigh* I miss her. Can't wait to hear all about her day!!

NASA visits and other Summer stuff

2011-08-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

(stole some of these from Kendra... thought I should come clean first thing!)

When the Brooms came in July, Cason was certainly outnumbered. But he didn't seem to mind, did a lot of dollhouse playing with Brooklyn.

The big girls did LOTS of dressing up, of course. :)

David took them on a Nasa tour, which I think was much more appreciated by the adults than the children! (understandable...) Here are David, Cassidee, and Reagan overlooking the Space Shuttle Mission Control Room. This was in the middle of the last shuttle flight, when Atlantis was up. So it was cool to be there "in action." Right in front of Reagan is the EVA chair, where David sits when he is on MC (no EVAs that day, no person in the seat). She did like seeing where Daddy is when we see him on TV.

No flash allowed, so these aren't great. But here is the Broom fam. :) Kendra was talking to Cason trying to get him to look as I took this...

Cutie girls.

This Misson Control room is actually now an official national historic landmark... kinda cool. All the Gemini and Apollo mission plaques are up on the walls and stuff. Weird to think how antiquated these computers are!!!

LOVE Cass's look here...

Reagan, hitching a ride to our next building.

Cass too!

This was in the Astronaut Training facility where all the mock-ups of the shuttle, International Space Station, and other space vehicles are. Brooklyn took it upon herself to go under the ropes... "my Daddy works here, I'm special." I had to GRAB her. Btw, anyone besides me think that the shuttle was bigger than this?

This was awesome. David had taken Kendra and Jeremy up in the shuttle mock-up (no kids allowed), so I stayed down with them while they entertained themselves spinning until they fell down in a pile of giggles. Typical. :) Anyways, right above us on the second floor is the glassed-in hallway that the "official tour groups" for NASA (that they pay for) walk by to just look down out the window at all this stuff, but not come in. So, this picture was going on right as a tour group was walking by. Yes, my little monkeys are spinning and falling on the floor while a group of about 50 people with paid tickets are watching them act like maniacs. It was awesome. :)

B checking out Daddy's space suit... or as she called it, the "robot."

Here is David, up there in the shuttle mock up platform. Brooklyn spotted him... "Hi Daddy Hi Daddy Hi Daddy Hi Daddy!!!!!" :)

This is when I accidentally changed settings on my camera. Woops. And yes, the legs of the space suit are all bunched up at the bottom... looks like it is just for a super short person.

Family Photo. I think Brooklyn had tears from just having gotten in trouble, but I love this picture anyways.

Jeremy and Kendra flying the shuttle! Kendra went nuts and pushed every button and flipped every switch she could find.

I wasn't thinking and wore a SKIRT that day. Dumb. Some places you have to wear closed-toe shoes, so I kept having to change my shoes. DUMB. But here is the one and only potty on the shuttle, right next to the "kitchen" and where they all sleep in one room. Must. Be. Nice. See all those black cylinder looking things with the colors on the left? Each crew member has their own color, and their toilet paper is stuffed in there. No rolls... they would just unravel I guess. And the potty has stirrups and handles so you can anchor your feet down then push your hiney down to sit. Hilarious-looking. When I actually think about how this all works in zero-gravity, it just makes me chuckle. There has to be suction of some kind... hee hee hee.

This trip David got it worked out to visit the moon rocks. So boring. They are in these cases behind like 6 inches of glass, set back about 6 feet from the window. And they just look like rocks. I mean, cool to see it, but look and move on.

But we couldn't because this lady was giving us the "tour." It took forever, and the kids (and the grown-ups a little bit!) were DONE. So, I just sat and loved on them to keep them quiet... fine by me. :)

After that, we drove over to the Natural Buoyancy Lab, the big pool where the astronauts train in an underwater mock-up of the space station. It is unbelieveably HUGE. Like 4 stories deep. David worked there A LOT since he trained them on space walks. They do all their practice runs in the simulated zero-gravity underwater.

This is the office were David worked simulations. The girls were mostly impressed with the chairs that they could spin in.

During this visit, Brooklyn fell in LOVE with the Broom kids all over again. Asks for them ALL THE TIME.

A couple of weeks later, David took my parents and Jerrod and Tracy on a tour as well! I didn't have my camera or my children (score! thanks again, Natalie), so Tracy took some pics for me. Here is Daddy, the shuttle pilot.

And Mom, the Shuttle Commander.

This time, we actually got to go down into the Apollo Mission Control room... so of course we had to sit in the flight director's seat!

And call on the ~~Bat-Phone~~ direct line to the President!

Omega watches makes a special watch for every astronaut that flies. It actually works in zero-gravity, outside in space. Super cool. You can buy them, minus the inscripted mission patch that they put inside. A few years ago, I bought one for David for his birthday. He had always wanted one to have as a "forever thing" from this cool job, something he could pass down as well. Then, one of his astronaut friends that he trained actually took David's watch up and flew it on a shuttle mission! So, we have pictures of him wearing David's watch in space. Way cool. Here is the Omega display outside the Historic MCC... might have to click on it to see it better.

If you've seen the ever-so-scientifically-accurate movie Armaggedon, you've seen this place (and the NBL pool as well). It is the huge vaccum chamber. Can't see the chamber itself in this photo, this is just the HUGE DOOR swung open.

The Edwards Fam flying the shuttle!

So weird to think that David has actually worked with all that super-cool stuff, really a part of history. As happy as I am in some respects that he is done, it is also really sad too. Glad we got to take the girls to go see it!

On to couple more things from summer...

David's birthday cake that R decorated. He's 34, so there are 3 yellow candles then 4 blue candles. :)

Baby girl, excited for cake!

I'm sure Daddy really needed the help with the candles...

A little summertime painting. I wanted to remember this picture... she spend almost 2 HOURS painting this picture. One tiny purple stroke at a time. Only two colors total. I kept asking if she was done... "Not yet, Mommy!"

Reagan did I think 5 pictures to Brooklyn's 1. I love this one in particular... all rainbows... all Reagan. :)

Tomorrow I will wrap up the summer posts, finally. Since school starts Monday *sniff... sigh*, it is time.

The KanMan

2011-08-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

Remember Kanyon?

(20ish months)

Sweet sweet boy of a sweet sweet friend of mine.

(a few months ago... walking!)

He's sick.

Really sick.

And it's gonna be a long road getting better.

Check out Jaymie's blog HERE for details.

And please pray for this little man.... he rocks.

And it stinks he is so sick.

More July and Birthday

2011-08-02T17:51:00.001-05:00

Goodness, I am almost done with July... now that it is August. Side note: 8 years ago today, I was standing next to the most handsome man ever saying "I do." Luckies girl ever, although I am well aware it is NOT luck. It was hot that day too. :) And man, I miss that dress. It really is a shame that we only get one chance to wear the dress... I loved that dress. I would put a picture, but I am too lazy to scan right now.

Here is a pic of the girls on July 8, watching space shuttle Atlantis launch... the last shuttle mission in history. David and I got to go to Florida to watch it land, which was SO cool. (more on that in another post)

My parents came in town that weekend for R's party. Dad brought some envelopes to stuff for work, and paid Reagan to do them. She took this job VERY seriously.

Opening one of her gifts from Grandmommy and Granddaddy: new backpack and lunchbox for Kindergarten. Grandmommy has a tradition of giving that special backpack for that special year... can't believe she is big enough now! Can you tell she was excited?

We had her 5th bday party at the city pool. Here are Melissa and Cason, just chilling before getting in.

Granddaddy and Brooklyn, with cutie Caleb on the right.

Reagan and her buddy, Will. The squirt gun party favors (Will is going to town with it) were a big hit... gotta love DollarTree.

It was WINDY, so we had to anchor everything down on the table. I had plans of making it SO cute, but didn't quite happen with the wind. Oh well, I think I was the only one sad about that.

More squirting fun with Will and Brady.

Grandmommy and Brooklyn. Not sure what I would have done for the party without my parents there to help with B (and everything else)!

The cake.

Someone remind me not to put too much effort into cute cupcakes for an outside bday party in the summer... the icing just melted right off. Again, I bet I am the only one who cared.

We got one candle lit in the wind, then had her blow it out QUICK style.

Kisses for my birthday girl.

Oh, how I love James Austin's robe!

Opening presents... Strawberry Shortcake coloring set!

I love how excited Brady is about this present... a Barbie. And Will (looking at the camera) gave it to her... his face is priceless.

Thank you hugs for Brady.

Our friend/babysitter-extraordinaire Kinsey brought presents for little sis... lollipops. She knows my kids well. :) One might think that Brooklyn liked it!

Thank you hugs for the grandparents.

David, swiping some icing and giving it to Jonathan.

All cool uncles have to do that.

Look closely and you can see Brooklyn's blue lips, teeth, and chin... and a booger in her nose. Nice.

Love this girl and her expressive eyes!

LOVE this one!

R used her own money to buy a matching Rapunzel dress for her BuildABear(Bunny) to go with the dress we got her for her bday. They are all decked out... Grandmommy and Granddaddy got her light-up Rapunzel shoes, and I made her the long braid. (one of the best ideas ever I stole from a blog... they wanted like $40 bucks or something for one similar from the DisneyStore!) We LOVE Rapunzel!

More to come!! And btw, the paci thing with B is MUCH better... she asks for it sporatically, but doesn't seem to mind. She laughs and says "I throw it in trash!!! HAHAHA!!"

Heartbreak

2011-07-28T22:23:00.001-05:00

I know, I know... two posts in one day! But this needed a post because I might be just as heartbroken as Brooklyn is....

I took her paci away.

Well, actually, snipped the end off of it and told her it was broken.

And her world FELL. APART.

Mercy.

That girl is so sweet, and I absolutely HATED doing this to her! Maybe that is why I waited so long... I knew it would make me so sad. Because she's my baby.

She's crying... "Pa-see BO-KEN?! WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?"

I rock her, tell her "It's ok. You don't even need a paci; you're a big girl."

She replies, "Noooooooooooot yet!! NOPE. I bay-beeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

I promised her a Big Girl Prize tomorrow for going night-night without her paci.

She liked the idea... at first.

She is still crying in her bed.

We're both heartbroken.... :(

Birthday Circus!!

2011-07-28T09:43:00.003-05:00

"Brooklyn" got this shirt for Reagan for her birthday... and I think she liked it more than R did. VERY typical Brooklyn face.

Opening presents on her actual birthday. David and I gave her several gifts at her parties, but on her birthday we gave her tickets to the circus. BIG fun. :)

She got this dollhouse from Grammy and Poppy. Both the girls have had a BLAST with it. This time, she and Grammy were having fun too.

Not sure who was enjoying this little time of "beauty parlor" the most... Reagan or Grammy.

Brooklyn got in on the action, but chose a tiny Barbie brush. Goober. :)

On the way into the circus. Pretty sure Brooklyn had no clue what was gonna happen, but she was SO excited. Enlarge it to see her face. I love this picture. :)

Their awesome Daddy is the sucker who buys expensive stuffed animals. I love that about him.

Before the show, giving this stilts-guy a HIGH five!

Clown noses!!! It hurt Brooklyn at first, but she was determined.

Honestly, I think B enjoyed the circus the most. She spent the ENTIRE show hugging David, squealing, pointing at stuff, and telling him "thank you." Sweet girl!

Brook was so excited!! Reagan liked it too, but B was hilarious.

Sister-hug.

My favorite part of the night. :)

David left with Reagan for popcorn at intermission... came back with these sno cones. Sucker. :) But they were frozen SOLID, and Brooklyn clearly needed help with hers. But she was letting us know that she did NOT have to be HAPPY ABOUT IT. Little Miss Two Year Old wants to do everything herself.

Happy Birthday Girl!!!!

Brooklyn gave in eventually, but she was still COVERED in sno cone by the time we left. Worth it.

Ok, I think I only have one more birthday post before I can catch up on everything else I've missed!!! More to come!

July 4th Weekend

2011-07-27T14:37:00.001-05:00

We went down to Aunt BB's Galveston house for July 4th to celebrate America's, Poppy's, and Reagan's birthdays. Evidently, this particular morning, the girls got an extra dose of Bedhead.

Not sweet Etta, though. Her 'do was perfect. Pretty girl trying to crawl!

R and Etta did lots of bonding this trip. Makes my heart smile.

Cute little behinds. :) B and Jonathan watching a little PBSkids in the morning.

B climbed on up and got herself comfy. I love how she sits with her legs like this...

Aunt Mary made a DELICIOUS chocolate cake for Jim's birthday, and the big kids got to "help."

Then, took a coloring break.

I'm pretty sure Poppy didn't need any help blowing out his candles, but he got some anyways.

I tried to tell Etta that formula was a poor substitute for chocolate cake, but she seemed ok with her bottle.

Mary decorated the cake so cute with this... Brooklyn decided it looked better on her head.

Oh, the sugar rush!

Jim was opening presents and cards, and R hung on to him just like this the whole time. Somebody certainly is smitten with her Poppy!

See?!

Photo book of 60 years of wonderful life... it was fun to look through!!!

Again, more love between the oldest and youngest.

Later, we hit the pool and par-tayed for Reagan's birthday. Happy 5-year-old!

I love Reagan's face in this one... can only really see it if you click on it.

"Thank You" kisses.

A "Thank You" hug for Uncle Kyle turned into this:

FABULOUS presents!

More hugs!

LOVE this one!

Brooklyn LOVES swimming. And by "swimming" I mean sitting and walking on the steps with her floatie on. We can all have our fun.

CHEESE! And yes, James Austin squirted me like crazy 1 second after I snapped this shot.

Etta, having her own floating-fun while chewing on someone's goggles.

Snack time!

Cupcakes after the pool!

Rainbow cupcakes: MUCH reward for not much effort. The 5 year old LOVED them. Happiness all around.

Oh, she makes me smile!

Seriously, how sweet are they?!?!

Maybe Austin enjoyed his cupcake?!

Annnnnnnnnnnndddd... my favorite picture of that weekend:

I'm trying to get my act together and at least get done with Reagan's birthday!! Sheesh.

FIVE

2011-07-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

July 6, 2006. Changed me forever, SO much for the better.

I'm way overdue on this post, but we tend to drag out the birthday SOOOOO long, that I am (big shock) behind. But my baby is FIVE. Seriously. That is just nuts. Yesterday she was this little... then, I blinked.

Man, that sweet and sassy sure did show up early! That picture says it all! Ha!

Opening up her first-ever birthday present. I love her expressions when opening presents.

2nd birthay

3rd birthday

4th birthday

5th birthday

This was one of our first Family Photos. Gotta love the self-timer. :) It is just so hard for me to fathom that she was ever that little... but she'll always be my baby.

5 of the Million Things I Love About Reagan Noel:

1. Her love of song. She sings, literally, all day. Her entire life is a song. She composes her own music constantly and uses those songs to narrarate her life as she goes. :) But she also has a real taste for music. She'll hear a song she loves and listen to it OVER AND OVER until she has it memorized. Current favorites: several from the musical Wicked. But tonight, she went to bed singing Lady Antebellum. Random, and I love it. I of course LOVE how much she loves to sing.

2. Her spunk. She is a strong willed and sassy little thing, but in the best way possible. I could give countless details, but I'll leave it at that. :)

3. Reagan is very tenderhearted. And she is a crier. (no idea where she gets THAT?!) Her tenderheartedness shows up most in her prayers and her love of her baby sister. She is an AMAZING big sister, just loves Brooklyn so very much. And she prays fervently for other people... my friends who are pregnant, a kid from school who got hurt, Brooklyn learning to talk... she really feels for people and takes it to the Lord consistently until she hears an answer. I love this about her so much. And NO ONE cries alone with her, ever since she was a baby. You're sad, she is sad. OR happy!! She is a crier of happy-tears, for sure. The other day, she was watching the Lion King 2 for the first time. I go in there, and she is on her pillow with crocodile tears in her eyes. I thought something was wrong... she says "No, just happy tears, Mom. This part in this movie is just SO SWEET." Her sweet heart warms mine.

4. She has her Daddy's smarts. Her little mind is a sponge, she is ridiculously observant, and NOTHING gets past her. Plus, her little gears are always turning in her head, doesn't take anything at face value. I look forward to seeing where she succeeds most in school... I see a future scientist in her, like her Daddy. She wants to know how EVERYTHING works, and figures out stuff way faster than she should! In addition, she also has a fantastic sense of humor, and already quite sarcastic. Again, I see this in her intellect, like her Daddy. And I love it.

5. She likes to make cards. That sounds dumb, but it is one of my favorite things about her. Someone has a birthday, she makes a card. Someone we know is sick, "Mommy, I can make them a card!" Her friend moves away, she wants to send her a card. Not only is she really artistic, and it is fun to see her creativity, but she thinks to do this to make people smile. She loves to GET mail, so she also loves to send it. And she knows it might make someone's day, so she makes cards. Just tells me how God is working in her little heart, and I think she has a great ministry going! :)

Reagan, I could type forever. Your Daddy and I love you so so very much, and we are blessed beyond measure that we get to cherish you as Ours. This year holds so much change for you, and I am so excited to see all the plans God has for you unfold as you keep getting bigger and bigger. I tease you that I need you to stop growing, and selfishly I wish you would!, but I don't really mean it. Seeing God's plans for you unfold is the greatest treasure of my life. I love you beyond words, Punkie!!

All Brookie Brook

2011-06-29T15:56:00.004-05:00

HUUUUUUUUUUUGE DAY for me, and Brooklyn, today!

Sweet girl called me MOMMY for the first time today! And about 40,000 times since. :) She and I both were so excited, and she has just said it at the top of her lungs over and over and over all day long. I've been "Mom", "Momma", or "MomMom" since last October. Today, she put in two syllables in a word with two DIFFERENT vowel sounds for the very first time, and I am beyond thrilled that it was "Mom-ee". "Mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy...." :) Oh my goodness, my heart overflows. :) Had to put that first. More about her EXPLODING vocabulary later... much much to report. For now, on to the pictures.

I guess it has been a couple of weeks now, but we had Brooklyn home by herself for a whole week! Reagan went to Amarillo to visit cousins for a week (they had a BLAST of course), and although she was terribly missed, it was nice to have some one on one time with Brooklyn.

She got to pick the movie EVERYDAY. Whatever she wanted. A first for B. :)

Now that I think about it, this pic was once R got home. They were dressing up together. Oh well, still a Brooklyn picture. I think this might be the first time she has actually worn one of Reagan's dress-up dresses. Sweet little fairy.

June marked the end of an era for Brooklyn. This is Mrs. Cheryl, Brooklyn's physical therapist. She has been our friend since B was 2 months old, and has seen her through EVERYTHING. She helped bring her SO MUCH FURTHER than anyone ever dreamed possible with her motor-skill development, including Cheryl herself! She and her family have moved, so we are really really REALLY missing her around here!!

Not only a ridiculously talented PT, but our dear friend. After seeing her at least once a week since B was a baby, we REALLY miss our friend!! Hope all is well, Mrs. Cheryl!

B's favorite activity while Reagan was gone. Funny, I don't think we've done this since she got home. But Brooklyn would walk up to David... "I HIGH, peez, I HIGH!" Translation: I fly, please. :) Our entry way is tall enough for this big time fun! Looks like in these pics that I need to have him be careful not to throw her into the ceiling!

Love the hair flying, and the huge smile!

Drinking the "milk" at the bottom of her ice cream bowl. See her stamp? Sweet girl has started gymnastics, and LOVES it! They get stamps at the end of class.... she gets so proud of that thing. :)

"CHEESE!"

Remember back when B went through a stage of pulling out her hair? She yanked out a huge chunk of the front by the roots about a year ago. Thankfully, there is no more of that nonsense. But it created quite a mullet as those "bangs" grew in and her hair kept growing long in the back. So, we went and got her first real haircut! I figured a pro needed to shape it up a bit and BLEND the mullet into something a bit more presentable. As you can see from this photo, she was scared to death. TEARS.

Thanks to the Mickey Mouse movie and lollipop, she calmed down enough to get it done. The 'do is SO much better!! I won't pay that price again, but it was worth it this time.

All layered up and much better!

Another fave activity during our one on one time... rides in the laundry basket. She is still light enough that this doesn't kill me!

Sweet girl decided to give her baby doll and Mickey a turn all by herself! (excuse all the laundry and mess... I was packing for a week-long trip for three of us)

"WHEEEEEEEEE!"

(been trying to upload a talking video of B for a couple of DAYS now, it won't load. in fact, been trying to load two different ones... no go. so, I'll keep working on that... therefore this post is a work in progress.)

This post from March (she could only say a handful of words) was the last time I put anything specifically about her speech, and OH MY GOODNESS how things have changed!! It is absolutely remarkable. Mostly in the month of May, her little voice just opened up and it was like the flood gates opened. She literally talks all day long. I thought about trying to make a list of her words she says, but she's WAY past that.... I couldn't even come close. She'll parrot just about anything you ask her to, not that it is always right, but she'll TRY... which is huge. But she is using at least 50 if not way more words that are totally understandable. AMAZING!! The video doesn't even do it justice, but I mostly wanted her to say "Mommy" today. We're to the point of adding probably 1-2 new words each day, when it took her months to just add just ONE not that long ago. She still signs all day long, but vocalizes with nearly every word and sometimes actually says the words too. And just today, said her longest sentence.... "Mommy, help me please!" I mean, seriously?!?! Night and day difference in this kid!!! (it comes out "Mom-ee, hup me peez!") I have prayed and prayed and prayed about this, and I'm getting answers everyday. It is just so great too to see Reagan witnessing answers to HER prayers regarding Brooklyn learning to talk. *sigh* And I know we have so many folks praying too... thank you thank you thank you. My cup overflows!

(this post is from Monday, June 27. for my records. :) today, first thing when I went to her room to get her out of bed, she asked to go to "tuh-tee-cheese." so yeah, I guess a kid is offically a TALKER when they can ask for ChuckECheese!)

Oh, the preciousness.....

2011-06-18T19:16:00.000-05:00

We've been out of town, and that means that I have an abnormal amount of pictures to go through and document. But that has to wait while the unpacking, laundry, Father's Day festivities of the weekend commence. So until then, I have to write down this story before I forget.

While we were in East TX last week, I took the girls to have dinner at my grandparents' house in Daingerfield. It was a great visit. They have a fabulous back porch with a brick wall for a "balance beam" and some steps to play on. Brooklyn needed some help from Mommy for both of those activities, and strangely enough, Reagan didn't understand why.

Sweet thing asks "Why do you have to help Brooklyn on the stairs, Mommy?"

I kinda prompt her to answer her own question, and she says "Oh yes, because of her braces."

"And why does Sister have to wear braces?"

"Because of her spina bifida."

"Right. She's little still, and her legs aren't quite as strong as yours, so sometimes she needs extra help for stuff like this. No big deal"

Then, in such a way that filled my heart to BURSTING, Reagan walked over the Brooklyn. Squatted down in front of her, leaned in forehead to forehead, and whispered,

"I love you just the way you are, Brooklyn."

As I started weeping and my heart melted to mush right there on the concrete, I hugged both the girls and told Reagan that God REALLY knew what he was doing when He picked such a special big sister for Brooklyn. She just shrugged her shoulders and said, "You don't need to cry happy tears, Mommy. I just love her just the way she is, that's all." So matter of fact.

Funny, I learn a lot from that matter-of-fact-ness in my almost 5 year old. I love her simplicity, her spunk, and her heart so very very very much.

Ourdoor Fun

2011-05-27T15:53:00.002-05:00

Our evenings in May, up until the last couple of days, have been pretty pleasant... which is a BIG deal for Houston! And since we are so short on rainfall, it has helped somewhat with the mosquito infestation. So, we are getting as much use of the backyard as possible before it takes the serious turn for the worse in summer. Gotta love a backyard bbq with the fam!

Little Miss Blue Eyes.

Reagan's favorite meal ever... bbq drumsticks. Can you tell she loves it?!

B's first attempt at corn on the cob. She isn't a huge fan of corn, really. But she liked this concept for a little while!

Sister, on the other hand, loves it. This pic cracks me up. If you enlarge, might be gross, but you can see the corn juice, bbq sauce, and who knows what else all over face. Even bbq sauce on her eyelid!

Mommy, trying to help out a bit.

What says Texas Summer BBQ better than bbq chicken, corn on the cob, asparagus on the grill, fresh cut watermelon, and sweet tea?! Love it! Again, Brooklyn's first attempt at watermelon in this form. :)

Some goofy looks on their faces. :) But these next two, I got as fancy as I get with the camera lens....

Gorgeous of Brooklyn. :) But wanted to capture all the watermelon juice on her face!!!

Gorgeous of Mommy, too, right?! Ugh. :)

Enlarge this one and you'll see the drips down both elbows.... good times.

Last week, my parents came in for Reagan's preschool graduation. Had to just post this one of the serious concentration (coloring) by both of them!!!

Again, random, but these were the same night. Cutie cowgirl!

We spent one evening outside with their new water squirtgun things. Seriously, best dollar store find EVER! They had a blast with Granddaddy shooting those suckers!

"Here, Grandmommy. Have a leaf!"

See?! So fun.

Even B got in on the action, and was able to squirt it by herself. THIS is the face she had the gall to give her sweet Granddaddy when he offered to help her..... stinkerpot. She is precious, but she is TWO.

See all the water squirts on the house? Yeah, it was just the house, trees, swingset at first. THEN Reagan thought this would be fun... and Brooklyn happily obliged.

ALWAYS fun to get soaking wet in your clothes!

Reagan, ready to go inside; Brooklyn wanting more of this action. :)

Happy kiddo.

And on a completely different note, look at her FEET in that picture. No in-toeing AT ALL, in fact, they are actually kinda turned OUT. Awesome. Amazing what a little velcro can do... it is actually TRAINING her muscles to turn her hips out, and this pic is proof! So happy. Just had to throw that little spina bifida tidbit into this post.
Ok.
The fun way to clean off dirty feet before going inside! LOVE her face here... so very Reagan.

But we are now getting to that kind of weather where my children do NOT understand why I don't desire to play outside with them all the time. Why don't kids get hot?!?!?

Be Still My Heart

2011-05-22T22:36:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn sang with me for the first time ever tonight. SANG! We "sing" together every night before bed in the rocking chair (you know me, always singing. And yes I still rock her because she lets me!), but she mostly just signs the words she knows while I sign with her. But tonight, she requested Twinkle Twinkle and HUMMED THE NOTES through her paci. Still signing, but there were PITCHES coming out of her mouth. Sweet Jesus, You are so good. How I needed that little piece of heaven tonight!! This is big enough news, it's going on FB too... :)

She's Now A Kindergartener ....sigh....

2011-05-22T10:22:00.001-05:00

This was our FIRST day of Preschool Kinderskills...

... and this is the last. (still with her early morning puffy eyes)

That first picture was followed by these beauties... :)

Wish I had put her backpack in the last day pics for reference, although I don't think she has grown much over the school year. Her teachers measured, and said she has grown almost an inch. Huh. :)

That evening was her preschool Spring Sing. Good times.

Her "Big kid" class was all along the back row, and my sweet angel was by far the shortest one. Hard to see her back there! I tell her all the time it is a good thing she is tiny. :) From now on, she will probably be in the front row of everything, easy for me to see her the best. :)

There she is getting ready to sing, chatting it up with her friends.

OK?!?! What in the world.... ? :)

I accidentally changed some setting on the camera for a second before these shots, but here are Grandmommy, Granddaddy, and Brooklyn waiting for Reagan to sing. LOVE Brook's eyes here.

The rest of Reagan's cheering section. They were SO sweet to come see her, especially since the shuttle launch meant her own Daddy had to work. This row of people who love her made up for that a little bit. (She and her daddy have a special celebratory date planned when the shuttle flight is over...)

Brooklyn was sitting on the row in front with Granddaddy and Grandmommy, not realizing Uncle Turbo and Aunt BB had shown up. She SQUEALED, then had to give big squeeze hugs. :)

After they sang some songs, the graduates got to walk the stage. Her gown was dragging the floor.

Diploma time.

Brooklyn was BESIDE herself when she saw Reagan cross the stage. Did one of her ear-piercing squeals... it was awesome!

Her Kinderskills class.

I love this picture... all their little (or big) personalities are showing!

R and her friend Ava.

Sisters.

Thank you, Grandmommy and Granddaddy, for making the trip!!

Me and my Big Girl.

Caylie, her little BFF at school. We will SURELY miss her!!!

The littles, playing on the stage after the show.

Reagan with her wonderful teachers, Mrs. Amy and Mrs. Marla. We pray she has as wonderful examples in her life in Elementary school!!

...sigh...

Random

2011-05-02T21:16:00.000-05:00

We were at Uncle Kyle and Aunt Mary's house, and Brooklyn climbed her happy self into Etta's rocking chair. She looks heavenly in that color blue, especially sitting in a white chair.

Just some pics of the big cousin holding the little cousin. These pictures Melt. My. Heart.

We LOVE Baby Etta!

I swear, in this picture she looks 14.

Annnnnnnnnnnnddddddd... now we're back to being 4 and a half. :) Silly monkey.

We play outside A LOT these days, getting it in before it gets unbearable outdoors. But with any heat at all and humidity, Brooklyn SWEATS. But she doesn't mind. And she is SUCH a big helper. :)

As much as I LOVE her cheesy grin, I look forward to her getting a tad bigger so she can smile for real on command!

Last week, I got her hair into it's first big-girl ponytail. Oh my goodness. :)

Little girl is getting obsessed with the computer, just like big sister. She sat here for about 20 minutes playing the FisherPrice animal zoo game. Greatness.

And lastly, I love pictures of their sleeping. Kids just look so angelic when they sleep.

I love how she was cuddling Minnie Mouse, even if I can't see her angelic face!

There we go. And nose to nose with Minnie. So sweet.

Easter!

2011-04-26T12:44:00.001-05:00

He is Risen! He is risen, INDEED!

I hope you all had a great day of fun and family, celebrating our Risen Savior! I am so thankful for the hope we have in Him!

We had a fun weekend. The girls and I colored eggs on Saturday night. Now, I have way way way too many boiled eggs in my fridge.

Brooklyn was concentrating SO HARD.

As was R, with her tongue out of course. Reagan just could NOT do this sitting down.

I did however have her sit for this photo. Then she stood right back up again.

Pretty sure the Tinkerbell stickers were supposed to go on the eggs....

I found these plastic eggs filled with lemonheads. Cutest eggs ever.

So, thoses eggs went their baskets for Sunday morning, along with some other loot. And yes, I wrap stuff in their baskets. Makes the whole process take longer. I like it that way.

Basket reveal Sunday morning.

My favorite pics before church. (we took tons) The last one I love because of Brooklyn's face she's making.

Our church also took family photos that morning, which I hope turned out great. They will have them for us Wed. ;)
We spend the rest of the day at Uncle Kyle and Aunt Mary's for food, fun, and egg hunt. We have tons of pictures from this event, and Reagan is a BLURR in most of them. She was on the MOVE.

Check out that game face!

Despite the looks on our faces, Brooklyn and I were enjoying watching from the sidelines. Poor Brook didn't get to hunt this year. See her ow-ee on her foot? She cut it on glass from a picture frame she pulled off the wall into the packNplay at naptime. NICE. And it was a BLEEDER. Took forever for it to quit bleeding, even though it wasn't that deep. Thus, she couldn't walk on it. Bummer.

Sweet Baby Etta watching the festivites from the grass. I guess someone brought her some eggs, too! I am so thankful to my sweet niece for giving me my "baby fix" when I need one. :)

Sitting up was a much better vantage point!

A two-fer!! Nice form, Reagan.

Ummmmm.... Jonathan???

Guess he found it!

Cutie.

Reagan's loot. And she didn't stop here. Man, there is a LOT of candy in my house that I wish someone would come take away...

Constant motion...

Uncle Kyle to the rescue!

The other Beaver fam.

I'm sure these sweet cousins were NOT arguing or anything over this egg... I'm sure Reagan was just pointing it out to Austin and let him have it, right?!

Jonathan evidently wanted to re-hide this egg.... makes me chuckle.

Austin and Reagan both would bring an egg over to Brooklyn's basket. They were probably told to, but still sweet. She had fun opening them and munching on candy while the other kids got sweaty.

Sure was a fun Easter!

This part of the year is hard for me... it's a long time until another good holiday, or at least one I can decorate for. But can't believe it is almost MAY!

March Catch-UP: Part 2

2011-04-25T14:24:00.000-05:00

We got to spend a beautiful afternoon with some beautiful girls! My sweet sweet friend Amy has two girls the same age as mine. AND she and I have become closer since our second pregnancies came with some "issues" resulting in precious girls with lots of doctors. :) This was, strangely enough, the first time we've actually gotten the girls together. It was fabulous. Especially since Amy brought pink cookies.

(unfortunately, it was an "off" day for Reagan. Anyone else have those days when you want your kids to be extra fantastic, but it is like they can TELL so they decide to be in a funk?! Maybe it's just mine. But this was the day. Hopefully, the Carders will still want to hang out again, right Amy?!?!)

Here is little miracle-girl, Ella. I COULD EAT HER UP!

Just as Brooklyn is eating up her cookie.

I love this one because of how Ella is holding her Mommy's hand. Melts me.

Our two little miracle girls, loving on each other. I see future ACU roommates, don't you?!?! :)

"Come on, Brooklyn."

"No, seriously, Brooklyn. Hold hands." :)

Brook wasn't put off by this idea as much as this picture shows. :)

So, she decides to drag poor Ella.

SO SWEET!

Duck feeding time!

The ducks at Chisolm Park rarely go hungry. You can tell this by the fact that NONE of the bread the girls threw is being eaten.

GORGEOUS girl. And the spittin' image of her Daddy in two-year-old-girl form. LOVE those stick on earrings, girlfriend.

I was SUCH a great friend and let Amy deal with all four of the girls next to the water. All in the name of good pictures, right Ames?!

LOVE IT. Especially that Dora shirt and Backpack that Ella was sporting. Goodness GRACIOUS, Brooklyn was some kinda jealous! Awesome. :)

How I love this beautiful lady and her faithful heart. Love how she loves my kids like crazy before even meeting them. Amy, thank you for being a ROCK. I love you more than I could ever tell you.

Later that day, we got ANOTHER treat and hung out with the Brooms!

Kids' table:

Cassidee's princess birthday party!!! Our three brainwashed bffs!! :)

I was SO happy to see Rosie Jo! It had been too long. :)

My job for the party was face painting. This was a first for Reagan and me, I think. :)

CHEERS! Little girls LOVING their lemonade in pink champagne glasses! Who can blame them?

The face painting went on to be hands, arms, etc. Cass ran out of room, but still wanted more. So, here I am giving her a SWEET back tat!! :)

See it?! Classy.
But LOVE this picture of their group hug!

Then they fell down into a pile of giggles.

Missed Reagan's smile on this one. But I will NEVER get tired of taking their picture like this. They might, however, much to my dismay.

Whew! Caught up on March. On to April fun stuff!!! :)

March Catch-Up: Part 1

2011-04-22T13:32:00.002-05:00

I'm way behind again.

And I finished this post once, and it didn't save right.

Boo.

So, I'm gonna do pictures with minimal typing so I can carry on with part two. And hopefully get stuff from April posted before April is over!!

This was Mardi Gras day at preschool.... they got to wear whatever costume they wanted, of course she chose a princess.

Camping trip to Brazos Bend. Although most of the pictures from the weekend aren't on my camera. But this was while we were fishing on a dock about 10 feet above the water, looking down on this little guy...

The girls stayed sweaty and dirty the entire time. Awesome.

There's our friend again, my shoes, and Jonathan David's snack cup he threw at it. "Bye bye, snack cup!"

Jonathan David. I could EAT HIM UP.

This girl and her EYES. Goodness gracious.

That's a big blob of blood bait on a hook right in front of her.

We drove from the campsite to the lake (and the bath houses). So R got to do lots of driving!

Our first trip to the strawberry patch! She loved it, despite this "look".... that look shows up A LOT on my little 2 year old these days.

Almost the same pic, but B's face is sweeter and R's hiney is adorable. I can't help it, I love it!

Big mistake putting B in a white shirt that day. She would squeeze the berries as she picked them, thus juicy goodness was all over her.

Little Miss I Do It By Myself.

Signing "strawberries."

One afternoon in March, during spring break, the Amarillo cousins were in town. We met them and played at a park after lunch together. My girlies were in HEAVEN.

The big cousins are always so sweet to the littles!

LOVE IT.

B can't help but pick flowers, even on weeds.

Reagan, trying to "help" too.

B's "chin ups."

LOVE IT.

There is the first half of our March! More coming, eventually.

Picture Perfect

2011-04-11T00:04:00.002-05:00

It is certainly not all sunshine and roses around here all the time, but this particular day WAS. The sister-lovin' was picture perfect. MOST of the time, this is how they are with each other. And it makes me MELT. And crack up.

Humor me... there are several. And I wish somehow I could post the soundtrack that went along with this photo shoot. Oh, the giggles. :)

Notice how Reagan kept her arm around Brooklyn to make sure she wouldn't fall off the picnic table bench?

Oh my word. I am so blessed.

Spina Bifida, Shmina Bifida

2011-04-07T15:19:00.001-05:00

More happy dancing around here today!

Gotta love seeing that silly ole PT pay off!

Can you see how nervous she makes me? I was having a hard time holding the camera and not having both hands free to spot her. But she did this over and over this afternoon... amazing girl.
Take THAT, spina bifida!!!

Our "Normal"

2011-04-06T15:54:00.000-05:00

These are from awhile back, but I forgot to post them.

This is what happens in my house when I am cooking supper and the girls go to Reagan's room to "play" together.

That's blue and green eyeshadow. And tattoos. And a hodge podge of hairbows.

But I have to admit I love this picture of their prayers for our food at supper.

Reagan had on a dressup dress (I think it was the fairy Silvermist on this occasion) but took it off to eat because she "didn't want it to get messed up." Nevermind all the goop on her face getting on it while she stripped, she was worried about her food. Go figure.

Brooklyn's Voice

2011-03-29T23:42:00.001-05:00

I've had a few requests for video of Brooklyn's signing and her talking.

Today, sweet girl said a new "word," which is ALWAYS cause for celebration in our house!

She said "uh-oh." Not by accident either... said it over and over and over again. It sounds more like "uh-ow", but we don't care. :)

So as I am doing a celebratory dance for that little victory this evening (and the victory of paying off David's student loan today!! Unrelated, but still so exciting!!!), figured I would finally post a few videos for your viewing pleasure. Mostly of her talking. She is amazing at ASL, but it is so much our normal around here that I forget to video it. But the talking thing is the super duper stuff for her, so here are some examples. And I just love her little voice.

This is a word that only shows up every once in awhile, but this was the day after we first heard it. She chooses to eat off of this plate quite often, probably because she likes the "Bab" (crab) on it. She is also signing it, except it is actually supposed to be both hands crossed in front with the pincher motion. She doesn't do that part yet. :) It's tricky.

Here was the day a couple weeks ago when she let us know "Who's the guy you need to know when you've got a place to go" on Dora. I cried, I was so excited! She pointed him out all on her own the first time, rather loudly (Brooklyn is RARELY quiet), then Reagan kept asking her for it over and over.

Here is a compilation of all the other words she can say up until today. Posted especially for Vesti. :) Except for as of last Monday, she now calls me "Momma" instead of "Mom." Two syllables! WAHOO!! Anyways, we have our little "moments" while she is laying on the changing table... one of the few times a day when she is somewhat still! So, I get her "talking" or singing during those moments. I can't believe she performed this well for my camera last week! We still have work to do on her ABCs, but for little 2 year old fingers, it's pretty darn good I think!!! Most importantly, she remembers them and recognizes the written letters as well. Smarty pants, I just love her to bits.

I'm often asked how long we expect speech to be an issue for her. The answer is we have no idea. Some of you that are reading this know TONS more about this than I do. But from what I understand, this appraxia that she is unofficially diagnosed with (but probably has in full-force) can be really tricky. Could be years before she catches up... sweet girl. And the thing I am starting to hate the most about it is that she KNOWS she can't talk yet. She knows. And it frustrates her. Which is hard. But ASL has saved us, and now we are starting to combine that with some picture books for communication as well. (We are also well aware that for as much as could be happening with her, if speaking is the biggest deal we've got, she's a-ok!) So... thankfully she is NOT behind on her language for her age, just behind on her speech. We are of course very confident that God has HUGE plans for her, whether she has to talk with her hands or not!!! Thanks for the continued prayers for Brooklyn. She has come SO far, and we are so proud!!!

Severe Need to Freeze Time

2011-03-17T01:21:00.001-05:00

The need to freeze time... well, that is kinda where I LIVE right now. I think it is mostly because Kindergarten is right around the corner... lots of bittersweetness about that. And yes, I just made up that word. Anyways, both my little chickadees are at SUCH fun ages. I echo what my parents have always said about us... that each new stage/age is my favorite (guess my folks did like me!). Anyways, I have lots to post from the last week or so, but it'll have to wait until I can go through a million pictures. But I had to write down this memory for my "scrapbook."

Reagan and I have been planning a "big girl" date to see Tangled again... she doesn't know it, but I was just waiting until it would get to the dollar movie. She and I had said date on Tues, dinner and a movie just the two of us. Remember how obsessed she was/still is with Tiana? Well, we now carry the iTouch everywhere we go so she can listen and memorize the soundtrack of Rapunzel. And I do mean MEMORIZE. So, we are thoroughly enjoying the movie (I do believe it has officially trumped the Little Mermaid as my fave princess movie), and it comes to my favorite part... the lanterns.

Reagan made it even MORE my favorite part by singing the entire song outloud... not that loudly, just kinda to herself.... where I had to lean down to hear her, but act like I wasn't doing it on purpose. Be still my heart, I cried. I mean, like ugly cried, the entire scene. Don't ask me to explain why. Because if you didn't know why without asking, you probably wouldn't get it anyways if I tried to tell you. But let's just say that I love her to bits.

Her little 4.5 year old self reminds me constantly of this song, Fireflies, which I heard for the first time while I was newly pregnant with Reagan. I immediately got off my couch, got into the car, and drove to Target to buy the cd. Not only is it a beautifully written song, and not only does Faith sing it BEAUTIFULLY, but the sentiment speaks to me of a Mommy to little girls. My job makes me so happy. Not sure why some people have a hard time with the love of all things "princessy" with little girls. Maybe you know why and can tell me. But I love it. I love dress up. I love the pretend royalty that constantly graces me with its presence. I love the storybooks and movies. I love that Reagan actually does sleep in her princess "castle" tent up on her bed every night. I try to keep it in perspective for them, the whole fairy tale thing. But man, it is FUN to be a little girl. And it is fun to be their Mommy. And I pray that a true "prince" that loves the Lord first and my girl second comes along someday, so Reagan can sing this to him. Or the Rapunzel lantern song. Whatever. :)

Pigtails, Grandparents, Birthdays, and Ridiculously Expressive Kids

2011-03-06T19:54:00.002-06:00

My parents came in town to see us because they are helpless against the begging of my children. :) The girls had been REALLY missing them, so they obliged and made the trip a couple weekends ago. Here is a really happy Brooklyn, wearing our new favorite hairdo - piggies - , and her really happy Grandmommy right after they arrived.

That weekend, we also go to celebrate cousin Austin's 3rd birthday at the Downtown Aquarium. Thanks to a GREAT coupon, we got to enjoy all the fun stuff there. Here is the view of the other ferris wheel bucket/car/thing from ours at the tip top!

The other theme of this post is the expressiveness of my girls, especially Brooklyn. (She can't talk, but she is a masterful nonverbal communicator, and you NEVER wonder what she is thinking.) This day, the camera caught lots of crazy faces of my kids. Here is Brooklyn spotting something really exciting and pointing it out to Grandmommy.

And clapping for it, whatever it was.

Waiting in line for the shark train is fun when you have rails to swing on.

Family photo waiting for the train to start. Not Mom's fault Brooklyn's face didn't make the pic... this lens isn't very wide-angle. :)

Group shot. :) Certainly not the best of the girls. It gets worse. :)

But I'll take this one!!! Scrunchy-nose smile.

Then there's the snarl...... this girl can make the funniest faces!

You'll have to excuse me... I just had to post these because they make me laugh!

Sweet Reagan-smile!

Then there's this...

... and this little gem from R...

... and this one from B.

This is a TAD better, I guess?! They make me laugh!

Again, seriously Reagan?! Ha! I do love the way B is looking at Grandmommy... :)

Big claps and Big happiness!

Reagan saw something she liked!! B did too, is asking for "more."

I love how she is patting her Aunt Mary...

... SO sweet!

Reagan taking a peek at sleeping baby cousin Etta. She is SUCH a great baby! Would have been cooler if I had gotten a picture where one could actually see her!

Except for the fact that my ride has me way up in the air so I look gigantic, I loooove this picture! The girls love a good carosel ride!

Enlarge it if you want to see the girls better (for family)... except for B's scrunchy smile, it is one of the first pics in a long time that I totally think the girls look alike.

Again, sorry, there are lots of these. But it was really cute.... B kept looking for Granddaddy as we went around each time, and it was SO fun to spot him! (I could just EAT HER UP in her pigtails! Sheesh.)

Let me interpret for you:

"GRANDDADDY!!!"

On the other side of the ride:

"Where'd he go?"

"Grandmommy! There's Granddaddy!!!!"

Around again:

"Where'd he go?!"

"THERE HE IS!"

(Reagan cutting her eyes... :) typical.)

"LOOK! RIGHT THERE!"

Annnnnnnnd.... this is her I'M SO HAPPY, I'M GONNA DIE! face.
I love it. :)

So did Grandmommy. :)

Goober. Love her!!!

At the restaurant doing some serious coloring.

And getting tickled for beating Granddaddy in TicTacToe again!

Here are Austin and Reagan in the viewing window under the stingray tank. So cool!

Brooklyn got in on this action, but never turned around so I could get her face. But I LOVE Austin in this one.

Looking at them from the top this time.

Granddaddy helped Brooklyn touch them!

Reagan however would have NOTHING to do with touching them. I was trying to talk her into it in this picture, but nothin'.

Why an aquarium has a white tiger, I have no idea. But still very cool!

Thank you Austin and fam and grandparents for a FABULOUS weekend!!

Beautiful Day

2011-02-25T18:27:00.001-06:00

Today:

75 degrees

Cloudless sky

Slight Breeze

Perfect.

We spent several hours just playing and picnic-ing in the backyard today. It was just so gorgeous, and made my spirits soar. So fun.

My beautiful big girl. Both of these pictures are some of the most natural ones I've taken of her.

Self-portrait attempt. Those are hard with my big camera!

Attempt #2.

I took this one without looking too. But I just love it. She was walking around playing, then just came over and lay down in my lap.

Then, I had them both laying in my lap. Here is my vantage point: perfection.

The videos are not my friend... the ones that I WANT to post get "rejected." So these are the outtakes, but the only ones that blogger would take. It's cool, I guess.

Thank you LORD for just a fabulous day! One of the greatest things about Texas... spring that starts in Feb!

Jenny

2011-02-22T15:20:00.001-06:00

It was one year ago today that Jenny went to Heaven. I find myself still so sad for her friends, family, husband, especially her little girl. I think of her so very often, sometimes at the most random times. Today, same as many other days since she died, I LONG for Jesus to come. I was praying outloud while out walking today that the hurts of this world are GREAT and we ask that HE COME BACK SOON! My prayers lately are that I am more heavenly-minded... that all the "things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His Glory and Grace." That is what Jenny did for me, personally. Not only did her sickness change my prayer life forever, but it helped me remember to LONG for Heaven. To try and instill in my girls an anticipation for His Coming. I'm so thankful to her for that.

Jenny's favorite verse of Romans 15 is the one we had chosen as "Brooklyn's" while I was pregnant with her. I always wonder if God cares that I have favorite parts of the Bible...

(click on this to see it better.... most beautiful marker I've ever seen.)

Jenny Ross Bizaillion, I hope you're dancing today. You're missed so much. To the God of all Comfort who gives and takes away, we will forever give praise!

And we do wait with hope.

Happy Heart Day

2011-02-15T15:35:00.000-06:00

Reagan was so very excited about her Valentines Party at school. I was very excited for her to get to wear this dress. It was Adley's sweater dress, it's red and pink, so it SCREAMS Valentine's Day. I've been looking forward to it on her behalf.

And she looked precious. Thanks Adley! :)

I guess Reagan had put this book in Brooklyn's bed the night before after we read it for a bedtime story (Berenstain Bears Valentines... I loooooooooove those books!) because I found Brooklyn reading it when I went to get her yesterday morning!

We planned a family party for last night, and Reagan was "in charge" of decorating the cake. It was her idea to make Daddy a heart-shaped cake, so I gave her the reigns. She took her job VERY seriously. Colored the whip cream pink, of course.

The finished product. I thought it was a cross in the middle, but she said it was just a heart with stripes. And fancy chocolate chips. And LOADS of rainbow sprinkles.

We got all dressed up and waited for Daddy to come home from work... who promised to cook dinner (and it was AMAZING!). Here they are waiting for Daddy... I was hoping to get a good photo. Each of these just make me laugh instead!

Reagan giving Daddy the card she made for him.

The girls and I both got flowers! I love it when he does extra things to make them feel like special little ladies.

They looooooooooove to smell flowers.... especially when they are for them!

We got each girlie a new little toy and new pjs for their Valentine.

(there's a My Little Pony carriage under that red paper... I didn't get a photo.)

I realize after seeing all those that I need David to take the camera so I can be in more pictures too. I've been reminded lately that later I'll wish that I could see more pics of me with the girls. Especially since I was all dressed up and not looking like crud/normal! Oh well.

But I did get a pic of all our flowers. Arranging flowers is HARD. No wonder they cost so much!! But they're BEAUTIFUL and smell awesome. I love having flowers. Maybe too much.

This "family party" is our new Vday tradition. It was SO much fun. I love all three of my Valentines!