My little mermaid

So, i dont have pictures.. but am so proud of Allie. We have been swimming a lot lately and she has decided she can swim like a mermaid... which means she goes under water and paddles to someone (usually me, her dad or grandma) and then comes up when she reaches us or is out of air. she is doing so good swimming.. it is amazing to watch this little three year old be so worry free and unafraid of the water... i love it. shannon has been swimming too, and she usually kicks her legs, splashes her arms and watches her sister swim.. and then yells at her when her sister gets too far away. :) I will bring my camera soon to take pictures.

Spring Time Fun

We have enjoyed some beautiful weather the past week... and with it game fun at the park, playing in the backyard with the sprinkler, friends over for a cookout!!! i love early summer days, when it is warm out and the kids are so excited to run barefeet in the grass. Fall is my favorite season, but April and May are great months as flowers blossom and everything seems to come alive!!!

7 months, oh my

Shannon is 7 months, growing fast, drooling lots and loving life. She is such a pleasure to have in our family and we are blessed to have her. She has the goofy toothless smile (yes, lots of drool, no teeth).. and a laugh that makes your insides flutter.

Breakfast Surprise

Today my little Allie and cute husband decided to surprise me with breakfast in bed.... oh, they are keepers!! It was yummy and fun.. we all ended up in the bed eating breakfast together. :)

Mother of the Year

Ok, so now we all know that there are certain things we should not let our kiddos do. Like run with scissors, ride bikes without helmets, ride in the front seat of a car with an airbag. Ok, so these things they tell you over and over. For the most part, I think I am pretty conscious of my children's safetly. And then there are moments when I fall short.. this time, I nearly fell off....

So, last night I had to bring a meal to a friend who just had a baby.. (sweet Eden, so cute). Anyway, Shannon was sleeping and Allie is getting over another cold (another story, but really.. when does this end??). Anyway, so I asked my neighbors daugther who is in fifth grade to sit in my house while i ran the meal over.. i thought this would take 15 minutes. I told her if Shannon woke up and started crying, she could bring her over to her mom. Ok. All set.

So, now 30 minutes later I make it home. (traffic in mcminnville? protestors/picketers on 99W??). Anyway, I find Shannon in the arms of my neighbor, being consoled doing fine. Of course, as I knew she would, she woke up and was displeased that someone else greeted her. After trying to console her on her own, my little neighbor took shannon to her mom... as asked. But first, she tried to "take care of her". She lovingly tried to bounce her and get Allie to sing to her. She checked her diaper (really, a 5th grader is brave). She even decided to try to feed her. This is where my blunder comes into play. You see, earlier in the day, I had broken a bottle of Childrens Tylenol somehow (cracked on the bottom) and in quick desperation I poured the contents into a medela bottle and put a lid on it. I then set it on the counter. Not thinking, of course. You see where I am going. My little neighbor saw this, and in trying to help, put a nipple on the bottle and tried to feed it to Shannon. Thank GOD, shannon was too mad to eat and wanted nothing to do with this...

When my neighbors daughter told me she fed her the bottle of "orange" juice on the counter, my heart dropped into my toes. I nearly shouted out in fear. Not at her, it was clearly MY fault and she was doing what she thought she needed to to take care of this little one. However, I quickly examined the bottle, and was relieved to realize she did not drink any..... but still, my head race. What if? I cannot stress how much I was not upset with my neighbor, as I should have known not to leave the bottle out, known that she might want to try to console shannon before taking her to her mother... i know better than to leave medicine out, especially sitting in a baby bottle on the counter, unmarked. really? mother of the year.

again, God was watching, and no harm done to Shannon.. only to my own ego and a renewed understanding of being careful.

Happy Easter

I love Easter... It is such a great reminder of sacrifice, unconditional love and forgiveness.... Too bad it only comes once a year... I need this reminder daily, I think. :) This year we spent the morning at our church, enjoying breakfast, fellowship, egg hunts and a great service. Then we headed North to spend the afternoon with the Fisher Family (our sister in laws folks). On the drive home, it was a nasty rainy day, which is not what I expect out of Easter, yet I was filled with peace. I know that I am blessed. I know that I have a wonderful family. I know that God is in charge, even though I struggle with this often. I know that each day is part of God's plan and I need to enjoy this and cherish each moment.

Blessings to you this Easter.

Spring Fever

So, it seems Spring has come to McMinnville... though it is not supposed to stay. We have just had three or four beautiful, God made, sunshine filled days.... i love it. my daughter loved it. only problem, i realized she does not have any shorts in her size. i need to go shopping. she wore pajamas all day today because they are shorts.. and well, frankly, she wont wear them to bed, so i figured this way she would atleast get to wear them. did anyone notice they were pjs? i doubt it. besides, she got them so dirty so fast, you would not be able to tell what they were under the dirt. ahh, but sunny days are wonderful.

6 months

Shannon is 6 months and had her check up on Wed, which of course included shots.. and i think she got a lil bit cranky yesterday as a result. she has not been sleeping well and was up a bunch last night. perhaps it is teething or sore legs or who knows what. she does weight in at 16.6, which seems huge to me, but it is right in the 50-60% .. so, i guess there are chunkier ones out there.. :)