MAJOR Picture Update:)

Lil chica LOVES animals-especially "babies" and definitely doggies:) We actually found this one running around with a soup can stuck on his head in Uncle Popeye's neighbor's yard-Super Daddy rescued him and then Bella carried him around saying, "Puppy Mama, where are you?" and then claimed that it was HER puppy

Playing with Uncle Popeye's dog, Blondie-sweetest dog EVER put up with Bella squeeling after her all weekend:)

HA yep attitude:)

Chubs

First daffodil to pop up this year. We have beds full of daffodils that my Nana gave to me the spring before she went to Heaven.

Chubs being... chubby

Bella was swinging and screaming, "WEEEEE"-Hunter kept giggling in his sleep:)

Having to readjust the straps-she has grown ALOT since Daddy took the swing down before winter

WEEEEEE

She could not stop smiling-chica was SOOOO happy to be able to play outside again:)

oh I love this!!! Truly makes my heart smile so big

Look at all that hair!!!

She was watching the leaves "wiggle"

Big push, Daddy!!!!

I love my guys!!!

She found the bear on his shirt-watch out Chubs!

ahhh love (this is the face I get when I tell her to cheese)

Watching cartoons before we head to church

just being Chubs (that is Sissy's sippy cup.... I only wish!!!)

Snuggling Sickies- guess the same goes for them as it was for me when I was sick as a kid.... snuggling in Mama and Daddy's bed makes it all better

The Princess's Throne

More sickie snuggles

I love my babies!!!

Nana loves

Snoozing snuggles

HA Bella decided to help me make Valentine's Day cupcakes. Apparently they had done finger painting and hand prints at school that day and she decided that the cupcake batter would make a perfect medium and so the counter was her canvas:)

Her masterpiece

Getting some more "paint"

Cupcake batter is very versatile-can also serve as toenail polish!!!

Bella's School

Bella is officially enrolled for PK3 at Lifeway Christian School!!! She starts in August and I can't wait!!! I met with the Preschool Principal today, Mrs. Laird, and really love all the teachers and everyone that I got to meet. She will go Monday through Friday, 8am-3pm like "big girl school". They do 5 field trips a year (fire station, pumpkin patch, Fun City, Gentry Safari.... and one other that I can't remember). Parents are super involved which I LOVE!! The teachers each have a website where you can go and see the lessons for the week, the week's bible verse, snacks, etc. and they encourage parents to always go to the teacher if they have any questions or issues at all. Its just a great partnership. I really think Bella is going to love it and just do awesome. They have chapel time every morning (I remember this from when I went to preschool at St. Luke's eons ago and loved it-Bella is a lil praying priss always reminding us to pray at dinnertime and she loves when we pray for the animals and all the people she knows), then they do a fun activity, their curriculum, lunch, naptime, and then "specials" which are art, music, PE, and library (OMG will she ever love the library days!!!). All of the buildings are secure and you have to enter a code into the punch pad to even get in-LOVE that! I just got a really awesome feeling about and am gonna start a countdown to August LOL

They use a Bob Jones based cirriculum-had no clue what that was so Google helped:) Next year's curriculum will be similar to this:

Circle Time Discussion
• Heritage Studies and science
topics
• Receptive and expressive
language skills; discussion skills;
vocabulary expansion; picture
reading
• Interpersonal relationships utilizing
scriptural applications with
Bible Action Truths

Action Rhymes and Poems
• Language expression; auditory
discrimination in rhyming words

English Skills
• Receptive and expressive language
skills; visual and auditory
discrimination; prewriting
• Language-experience activities
for print awareness (such as
labeling, experience charts); dramatizations;
creative movement;
imitative play; stories

Premath
• Counting; number recognition;
sorting; classifi cation; sequencing

Art and Crafts
• Creative expression; observation
skills; eye-hand coordination

Cooking
• Sensory and language
experiences
• Vocabulary expansion such as
hot, cold, empty, full, and terms
of measurement
• “Reading” labels and recipes
Motor
• Fine and gross motor skills; vocabulary
expansion in directional
terms such as up and down, top
and bottom

Music
• Singing; listening; moving;
playing

Literature
• Listening appreciation of good
literature (Annotated bibliographies
are included for most units)
• Print awareness; picture reading


I PROMISE I'll post updated pics soon:)

Wednesday Update

Both kiddos slept ALL night!!!! We were all able to get MUCH needed sleep:) I gave them both huge kisses for that when they woke up! Of course, that meant their congestion had that much more time to settle over night so they both got breathing treatments this morning. Hunter is doing better-still a sick lil boy but each day is better. Bella still has her cough but acts like she is feeling better.

It is BEAUTIFUL here today so I'm planning on taking them for a walk in the limo stroller after I pick Bella up from school. The cats are enjoying being out on the deck sunning, and I LOVED driving in the van with the windows down (and YES the very rear windows vented LOL).

Thank you for the prayers and emails!!!

Afternoon Update

Well we are still at home:) I'm seeing a little bit of improvement in Hunter. He is actually waking up to eat and has been able to eat alot more. He is being a champ with the Pedialyte!! His cough is still ucky but its sounding better than it was yesterday. He still has alot of nasal congestion but the nasal drops seem to be helping some. His appetite is definitely back!! He is alot more alert today than he was yesterday and more responsive-throwing me tons of smiles:) His color is MUCH better today also. We're heading in the right direction even if its slow.

Thanks for the prayers and all the emails!!!

Infirmary Update

Hunter and Bella were both seen by the doctor on Friday and determined they had ear infections. They both got 10x worse over the weekend with Bella sounding almost croupy and Hunter had TONS of congestion and a horrible cough. He has been sleeping ALOT-barely waking to eat, which scared me so we went BACK to the doctor yesterday afternoon. He has the same virus that causes RSV. The doctor said he is actually worse than an RSV case right now but isn't testing positive for it. He said if we were first time parents he would have admitted Hunter to the hospital yesterday. Luckily my asthma plays a positive role in the fact that we have a nebulizer at home so we can do breathing treatments here and had to promise that we would take him straight to the ER if he did anything "funny" or wasn't breathing right. The doctor is worried that its trying to turn into pneumonia.

So we have to do breathing treatments for Hunter every 4 hours (Bella as needed), can eat Pedialyte and breastmilk only (he does NOT like this because the boy LOVES to eat and we've had to nurse AND give formula to make his tummy full enough for him to be satisfied BUT the formula is so much thicker than breastmilk that it just makes the mucus worse), and I have to call the doctor 3 times today to provide updates. If he stays the same or gets worse, they will be admitting him today.

Hunter slept all night, had to wake him up to eat and he slept thru his breathing treatments-anyone thats ever used a nebulizer knows that it mimics the sound of a LOUD tornado. I'm praying that all this sleeping is his body healing-he still flashes me his killer smile when he is awake!

Bella woke up at 11 last night screaming in pain-the ear that WAS clear yesterday afternoon was now infected and it was rupturing. She literally cried for 2 hours and was just writhing in pain. She'd let me hold her for a few minutes and then slide off the bed and curl up on the floor and just roll around. It was a rough night but she was MUCH better when she woke up this morning. She still has her cough and Walgreens had to order her RX cough medicine so she'll be coughing til she gets that this afternoon.

Requesting all the obvious prayers for healing and comfort for both the kiddos!! Hunter is, SURPRISE, sleeping so I'm gonna go lay down-my nerves are shot.

TWO MONTHS

We've survived another month:) Hunter had his 2 month appt today and the boy has GROWN!!!

Weight: 11lbs 6oz (gained exactly 4lbs since birth)- 50th percentile
Height: 22inches (3inches since birth)- 20th percentile
Head: 16 1/2 inches- 90th percentile

The boy has a BIG head!!! Everything looked great and he survived his shots:(

Part of the reason his nickname is "Chubs" LOL

I was trying to take pictures of Bella's haircut LOL she attacked me with her spoon

HAD to take a picture-RARE moment that her hair was actually fixed

Ignore the freaky red eyes-took these before I fixed the camera

Check out the tummy:)

Sweet boy chilling in his papasan

Love that lil mouth!!!

He is seriously the sweetest baby ever!!!

Yep, definitely a boy LOL

I think I'm gonna have a problem saying "no" to that face

Lil smirk

Talking to Mama

Bad red eyes but he is sooo cute

My beautiful princess

The boys playing Madden

This is what happens when Bella gets a hold of the camera- loverly self-portraits

Her eye LOL

Family Portrait Help

Ok I need HELP!!! I'm not creative at all when it comes to this stuff. We are getting more pictures done by Laurie Glenn (http://www.laurieglennphotography.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Laurie-Glenn-Photography/47316381380) - she did the pictures of Bella and us in the Fall.

This time she is gonna come out to the house and do studio type pics (check out the ones she did of my friend Julia's kiddos-the ones with black background-turned out BEAUTIFUL!!!). Sooooo I need help coming up with a look. We're mainly gonna do pics of Bella & Hunter but I want some of us too (Ben & I, Ben & kids, me & kids, and whole fam).

So, here are some of my ideas (definitely want SOME with a tutu and then some just normal):

1. Pink Chica/Blue Boy~ Semi-copy cat off Julia. Get a pink tutu for Bella from my chica Cheli (http://www.themollycoddleboutique.com/productpage.htm) (jeez I'm surrounded by insanely talented people!!!). And have Hunter wear blue.
2. Go Hawgs~ Get a black, white, and burgandy tutu for Bella, and Razorback jersey for Mr. Man.
3. Spring Pretties~ Tutu for Bella in spring colors with either solid color shirt and jeans or tights, spring color polo and jeans for Hunter

k so either email me or leave a comment here with your vote or an idea of your own:) Muchas gracias!!!!