Summertime!

I love these people pictured here with me...

Summertime is really my least favorite time of the year as far as weather goes, but I love the time we get to spend with my nieces and nephews, and all of the fresh veggies & fruit that comes with it. A couple weeks ago, all 7 cousins were together & Paw Paw took us fishing at the farm...Ivy Jane caught one! Although she wasn't too sure about it flopping around!

 We had 7 kids, 5 adults, & one dog on the pier! Talk about crowded! Will, Caroline & Ivy Jane...

Look at the beautiful day we had to enjoy! I've taken this place for granted growing up, but now that I'm older I realize what a beautiful spot it really is! 

While we were visiting, Georgia Claire (the best little helper on the PLANET!) helped Grandma wash & snap her green beans! She loved washing them until she could no longer see dirt in the water.

 Concentrating so hard & taking her job very seriously!

And after the green beans were washed, snapped, & canned, it was on to the pintos! Here Georgia Claire is with cousin Mary Katherine & Grandma...shelling the beans was such good work for her little hands! I sent these pictures to her OT and she was THRILLED! We're slowly but surely strengthening her grip, pincer grasp, & overall hand strength.

Mary Katherine got bored with it & Grandma got busy in the kitchen, so Georgia took the beans inside to Caroline & had another shelling party!

This week Caroline came to our house for a visit...such a FUN time with these three little girls! We ate lunch at the Sonic in Bass Pro. The cherry limeades were a hit!

 And so were the Wonder Woman headbands that came with their kids' meals!

 And so was the trolley ride...

And the carousel ride (Georgia Claire is NOT in trouble, although it kind of looks like it in this picture!)...she just decided she wanted to sit in the seat. The animals going up & down are a bit much for her!

After the carousel, we went to the photo booth! HILARIOUS! They were too busy looking at themselves in the screen above the camera to look at the camera & trying to get all 4 of us in that little space made me laugh so hard my sides hurt!

 At home having some "down time"...

One last pic from our Saturday morning donut run. The girls had to get "A baby"... I think I counted seven all buckled up together.

Overall, a fun couple of weeks of summer so far! I just wish it wasn't so hot. This time of year I always dream of living in Colorado or somewhere where it's cool...I love these little people though & they don't care that it's hot! So, it's my plan to make the most of this summertime. 

FOUR YEARS

FOUR YEARS?!?!?!? What an impact. What a blessing. What a J-O-Y this sweet little girl has been! 

A flood of emotions always seems to hit me when this day comes. So thankful. So happy. So emotional. I will never take for granted this precious life that God orchestrated us to have with our Georgia Claire. Julia (and her ENTIRE family) will never know the deepness of our gratitude for the decision she made to place Georgia for adoption. The tiring, heart-wrenching, emotionally draining 5+ years of failed fertility treatments, surgeries, shots & medications were thrown out the window on June 17, 2009, when we saw that tiny, 6 lb. 14 oz baby girl for the first time. 

Happy 4th Birthday, Georgia Claire. Your daddy & I love you so very much. We're teaching her young that a DAY is not long enough to celebrate...we've stretched it out over four days now! 

The festivities started at Build-a-Bear in Grapevine while visiting Mimi & Granby. She & Ivy Jane got to pick out their own bear & an outfit...a special birthday surprise from Mimi & Granby! Here she is stepping on the pedal to fill her bear with stuffing...

 & getting the heart for her bear...

And she even got to pick out a second outfit from Uncle Jules & Aunt Heather!

Such a sweet store & fun concept!

We ate lunch & then got on the Carousel...SHE LOVED IT! Shelby & I, on the other hand, got a little dizzy. Shelby said as it was slowing down, & I quote, "Get me off this thing!" Ha!

That night we celebrated with a small cake & HUGE Minnie Mouse ears!

Why is the cake already cut, you ask? Being the great host that he is, Granby is so used to getting desserts to everyone he forgot & cut it before we took pictures & she blew out her candles. Georgia didn't care...

We wore her, and Ivy Jane, slap out that day. They slept all night on their pallet together...

On our way home Sunday we stopped off to celebrate with ALL of her cousins & Grandma & Paw Paw. Grandma made her famous strawberry cake. Having all of us sing Happy Birthday to her was a bit overwhelming, especially her crazy boy cousins yelling! She found comfort sitting with Paw Paw!

And recovered nicely to blow out all of her candles!

We got in late Sunday night but we were up bright & early ready for a fun-filled day! Here's the new 4 year old & her best friend...ready for DONUTS! 

After eating at the donut shop (they think it is the best thing to eat in the one booth at our local donut shop...thank goodness it wasn't taken), we headed to a local toy store & spent an entire hour there. It was fun for all three of us! Shelby's grandma gave Georgia money & she couldn't wait to spend it. We took our time & looked at everything at least twice & she decided on a family of mice Calico Critters & the Cozy Cottage (or Comfy Cozy Cottage or Corn Cottage, as they both were calling it today). They knew it started with a "C", just didn't quite remember the right "C" word! After meeting Shelby for lunch we headed home & played with our new toys until naptime. Speaking of naptime, getting an overly-excited 4-year-old to settle down and take a nap is a task in itself! BUT, Momma won! We all three napped together in my bed...it's a tough job folks, but someone's gotta do it! 

After naptime Georgia helped me with a quick birthday cake that we could have at our house, & then we headed out to the boardwalk for supper & fun. We got to ride the trolley...SO MUCH (free) FUN! 

And then we ate supper at Saltgrass Steakhouse. Georgia Claire ate every single bite of her steak, and a few fries!

After dinner we hung out around the boardwalk, went to Build-a-Bear & bought one more outfit for each of the bears, rode the trolley one more time, and then headed home for cake & ice cream!

All morning she kept asking me, "Am I really FOUR?" She had the biggest grin on her face & was so very happy all day long! Jumping around, singing, dancing, playing with her sister, hugging my neck at the most random times...happy. We love you sweet Georgia!

Valentine's Day with My Loves

Shelby & I had the opportunity to go out to dinner on Valentine's day but we wanted to celebrate with our little Valentines instead! We decided to make our own pizzas for dinner & the girls LOVED it! They pressed out their dough, put sauce on it, & toppings! So fun! We will be doing this again.

 Georgia was so excited she had to watch her little pizza cook. She pulled the chair over & sat & watched!

 

After supper we loaded up & went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream! Ivy Jane had a blue sprinkle on her nose (and a bruise on her forehead from doing "timber" off her bed!)

 Georgia LOVES chocolate, or "black" ice cream, as she calls it!

 After ice cream we headed to the pet store to see the fish, birds, hamsters, cats, rats, guinea pigs, etc. One of our favorite things to do together! It was such a great night...PERFECT in my book. And we ended with hugging (really fighting over) Daddy! I love my Valentines!

Precious Ivy Jane

Where do I begin with our Ivy Jane? She is smart...almost TOO smart! She's also dramatic...VERY dramatic! She's also INTENSE...VERY intense! But she's also HILARIOUS...SO hilarious! About two to three times a week she says something that Shelby & I look at each other like, "WHAT?! HOW DOES SHE KNOW THAT?!" She learns a lot from educational shows on tv...she's like a little sponge. Some of our favorite things right now are "The sun's brighting me!", instead of juice barrels, she calls them "juice barrows". We read a book called Each Peach Pear Plum & she calls the wicked witch the "wickey witch". She also likes to "run errands" and tell me when it's "chilly" outside! This morning she & Georgia were playing "church" & she said, "You want to go to church with me Georgia?! You do? Ok! That will be awesome! We'll have so much fun together playing, reading books, and learning about Jesus!" Precious words to this momma's ears. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her these last few weeks...

Being silly...she put a baby doll's gown on her head.

At Grandma & Paw Paw's house she loves to play with all of the "people". She worked for about 30 minutes one pretty afternoon and set up all of the people in their chairs around the different tables. She was so proud!

At the doctor...we were afraid it was the flu, but a sinus infection instead. Poor baby is going to have allergies like her momma.

A fever of 102.5 was not going to keep her from making silly faces!

The following day she couldn't attend MDO since she had fever the day before, so she "ran errands" with me & we ate lunch at Jason's Deli. Her lunch of choice? Kids salad bar & milk...and don't forget the free ice cream at the end!

 CRAZY girl...

 Did I say she was intense?! We had to run by Shelby's office the other day to pick up some paperwork & she was NOT HAPPY that he had to stay at work and we were going home...

AND...MY FAVORITE PICS! Yes, people, she's in BIG GIRL PANTIES!!! Everything has to be on her time so I didn't fight the potty training thing. She decided this week that she was ready & has had only a handful of accidents! We are about to get a big raise by not buying diapers any more...ahhhh...

 I love this little "panty bottom"!

Sweet Georgia Claire

I still call her my baby girl, but in reality, she's not a baby anymore! LOVE our Georgia Claire to pieces & her little personality that is coming out more & more as each day progresses. She's still in occupational therapy working mainly on strengthening her grasp & fine motor skills, and strengthening her core. She's doing SO well and is growing up right before my eyes! We've applied to a private school here in Louisiana for her to start PreK next year...boo hoo! Her OT thinks the consistency of an every day program will be good for her, as well as the preparation for kindergarten. We are really excited about the opportunity. The school is wonderful...they start with chapel & a devotional every morning, the class size is small, and it's just an overall wonderful atmosphere. It's a classical academy & they teach through music. For a little girl who is loves to sing, sounds like the perfect fit! We should find out in March if we are accepted! 

Georgia loves to be a helper, always wanting to help me in the kitchen, always trying to help her little sister, and always the first to help clean up at the end of the day. Here are some of my favorite pics of her these last few weeks.

Helping me make cookies. Instead of turning the beaters off, she turned them on, and there was a lot of flour in the bowl...OOPS! We got a good laugh!

 She loves her "special blankey"...and loves to watch tv on our bed.

 I remember sitting like this in my gown when I was a little girl...

And she has gotten SOOOO GOOD on her tricycle! She LOVES to ride! I'm ready for spring so hopefully we can get out more & ride!

 She still has issues with textures of foods, but her OT keeps reminding me that once we get her core stronger & those gross motor skills developed, the oral motor will catch up! We're seeing her branching out a little more. I had to get a picture of her at Mom & Dad's house a few weeks ago. She ate not one but TWO cuties!

She has done so well since getting her tonsils & adenoids removed & tubes put in her ears, but she still has MAJOR allergies. Her eczema is a daily battle it seems, and she has asthma issues. We had to take a breathing treatment home a couple weeks ago & do a few albuterol treatments...WOWZERS! Talk about a different child! She was NUTS after doing these treatments! Shelby had been in Houston for work, got home & I ran to the grocery store, and when I got home his eyes were HUGE & he said, "What have you done to her?! She's a different child!" To which I responded, "Yeah, now you know what my day was like!" Thank goodness those treatments should be few & far between!

She likes to do therapy with her baby. Here she is brushing her, bouncing her on the ball, & doing her listening therapy...LOVE IT!

Stacy sent us some Valentine goodies in the mail & whatever the chocolate & peanut butter candies were that she made were GC's favorite!!! I think I ate ONE! Thanks, Stacy!

This picture CRACKS ME UP! We were on one of our many trips to see my parents...and we were LOADED down...yes, that's a tricycle beside her carseat & my clothes on the other side! She wanted to keep her hat on & she was just a singing away with it pulled over her eyes...little funny bunny!

 LOVE HER!

Beautiful Sunday morning in the piney woods of East Texas on our way home from church with Grandma & Paw Paw. Singing again...

This is one of my all-time favorites of her. She had pulled her pj top over her head & I was tickling her on the carpet...LOVE that sweet face! 

An update on Ivy Jane will be next...hopefully I can do it TOMORROW & not in SIX WEEKS!