Goodbye, you handsome boy!

We watch So You Think You Can Dance, otherwise known as The Dancin' Show at our house.

Addi is very opinionated about who should stay and who should go. Although, her reasons generally have very little to do with dancing. She usually looks to clothing and hairstyles when deciding on her favorites. Oh, and gender. Gender is very important to her. The males on the show have no chance with Addi.

That is, until tonight. Tonight Addi looked at the tv and said, "I hope the boy in the pink shirt stays. I like his hair."

That was a little surprising, but then for the last 15 minutes of the show everytime she saw him/the boy in the pink shirt/Mark, she would say something about his "handsome hair". When it was announced that indeed Mark would be leaving, Addi stuck out her bottom lip and said, with much flair and drama, "Does this mean I'll never see him again?! Goodbye, you handsome boy! I'll miss you, Handsome!"

I'm not sure if she actually understands the word handsome, but I was a little disarmed. She hasn't even started school yet. I don't remember thinking about boys being handsome when I was 5! What will she be like when she's 7?!

WW (or some variation of ww)

Sisters, Sisters
There were never such devoted Sisters...

Ever seen White Christmas?

Addi and Libby are taking a dance class together this summer. They love it. I wish I could set up our video camera in the class to share with you. Addi is serious and keeps her eyes on the teacher. Libby spends a lot of time rolling around on the floor. She's not disruptive, well, besides all the others seeing her roll around, but she doesn't ever roll into anyone - I'm looking for the positives here! I've learned that if we want them to branch out and socialize they can't be in the same class! I guess having a sister is like having a built-in friend. At least it is for my girls at this point in their lives. It may change. I'm expecting it to, but I'm cherishing sweet moments of adoration between them now.

Becky "tagged" me, I think

I got an email from my friend Becky a couple days ago that made me laugh. She was unsure of correct blogging terms and it made me chuckle to think of myself a little over two years ago...if someone'd sent me an email saying they'd "tagged" me on their blog, I would've thought they were speaking another language. I had fun reading her answers, so I thought I'd throw caution to the wind and give the meme a whirl. Plus, if you'll note, this makes my eleventh post in July, which is the most I've written since I was still referring to Levi as Baby P.

ABC’s
A. Attached or Single? quite attached
B. Best Friend? my attachment, Bryan
C. Cake or Pie? without hesitation pie, pecan and my mom's chocolate are my favorites
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? uhmm, breastmilk, it is keeping someone alive right now!
F. Favorite color? purple (really any color, I love color)
G. Gummy bears or worms? sour patch kids or strawberry twizzlers?!
H. Home town? Irving, Texas is where I grew up, now it is Frisco, Texas
I. Favorite indulgence? my latest is Blue Bell's Chocolate Extreme ice cream, the name says it all!
J. January or July? July, my wedding anniversary and it isn't cold
K. Kids? 3 that light up my life, 2 daughters and 1 son
L. Life isn’t complete without? my Savior (same as Becky, but there isn't another more true answer)
M. Marriage date? anniversary? July 15, 2000. night out? a yummy meal then home to watch a movie during which I would fall asleep on the couch
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 very lucky brother : )
O. Oranges or Apples? I like tangerines and Granny Smith apples
P. Phobias? anything that slinks and scurries...rodents, snakes, cockroaches, etc.
Q. Quotes? "Mommy, I don't like you. I love you!" - my daughters say this everyday : )
R. Reasons to smile? my family, my friends, God's love, mercy, forgiveness, grace, patience, kindness, sovereignty...
S. Season of choice? Spring for the bluebonnets in Texas, Fall for football
T. Tag 4 people: my brain is fried, if you want to do this and haven't consider yourself tagged
U. Unknown fact about me? well...I used to work at Sonic (that's not unknown), but I still get a little excited when I go to Sonic and they're really busy and I can see the fountain person working like a madperson to get all those yummy Sonic treats on the trays. Really, I want to get out of my car and go take over. That's more of an embarrassing fact that should have stayed unknown.
V. Vegetable? I'll say eggplant because we had it tonight, but almost any vegetable I love
W. Worst habit? procrastination
X. Xray or ultrasound? (what is this question?!) I guess I'll have to go with Becky's again 'cause she gave a good answer and I can't think of better...ultrasound, I think I cried each time I saw my babies moving inside me
Y. Your favorite food? Mexican food
Z. Zodiac sign? I think I'm a pisces...obviously I pay a lot of attention to it since I just had to Google "zodiac signs" to know how to spell pisces!

cousins

We've been spending a lot of time with cousins lately. Last week two of my cousins and my grandmother came to visit and on Friday we played with Bryan's sister's kids. I am so thankful to be back in Texas where my children will share many experiences with our extended family.

re-post

I tried clicking on the smaller pictures in the post below to enlarge them and it wouldn't work, so I thought I'd just try again with larger pictures.

Levi David @ 6 weeks

I had a photographer come to our home when Levi was brand new to take some surprise pictures for Bryan. He wore and "I love Daddy" onesie in some of the shots. My plan was to have one of those framed for Bryan's office. He has another set of the girls when Libby was 5 weeks and Addi was 2 that he's left at home because he says he doesn't want to hang those without pictures of Levi.

Obviously, he didn't get his Father's Day gift.

I'm not sure what all happened, but I waited and waited. We were on vacation on Father's Day, so when the pictures weren't waiting on me when we got back I contacted the photographer. I never heard anything, but about a week later the pictures arrived.

I was so excited! However, I opened the box to find another baby. Not another baby as in Levi has changed so much it's like he was another baby in these pictures, but an actual other baby.

I was so frustrated! I contacted the photographer again allowing myself to express a little more of my frustration. This time I did receive a reply with an apology. But, instead of saying she'd come by and switch my pictures for these other people's, she said she'd re-ordered them?

I finally got them a couple days ago and she threw in the disc because of the mix up. Even still, I don't think I'll be using her again.

The positive is I get to put some of his shots on the blog now.

work with me

Addi: "Look! Mommy has the biggest shoes, I have the second biggest shoes, and Libby has the third biggest shoes!"

Libby: "Mommy! I have the third biggest shoes!"

Me: "Yes, yes you do!"

Me: (under my breath) "Otherwise known as the smallest shoes."

Addi: (in a pseudo-whisper, with hands waving) "Mommy, work with me! I am trying to make her feel good."

Didn't I feel like an insensitive jerk!

8 Great Ones

Today marks 8 years being married to my best friend. The past year has been exhausting, yet exciting. I wouldn't want to do it again anytime soon, but I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunities we have in these 8 years. There is no one else I'd rather experience this journey of life with than Bryan. He is my constant in a world of change.

Love you, B.

Always.

Gin

Just look what arrived on my doorstep this morning. So beautiful!

The Little Mister

Dear Levi,

You are 4 months old! Some moments I still feel the need to pinch myself. Do I really have a son?! Those moments usually aren't at 3 am when you're screaming with hunger! You aren't sleeping through the night yet and probably won't be for awhile since you're such a little guy. You tipped the scales at 10 pounds, 14 ounces. The doctor said you were doing fine at the very bottom of the growth chart. I think you are doing just as you are supposed to be. You'll probably gain all your "baby fat" in your 2nd year just as your sisters did. You are the "happiest" baby we've had. It isn't hard to get a smile out of you. Your eyes are still blue and your hair is still dark. It's all about the same length except a longer tuft at the crown of your head that likes to stick up after your baths. You've learned to splash during bathtime. What a mess that makes! You roll over to your stomach as soon as I put you down, so you sleep with your rear end in the air. I love it! In the past week you've starting squealing at the top of your lungs. You aren't upset. I think you just like the way it sounds. You always seem to start when I'm on the phone or your dad is trying to watch a tv show! You have your sisters wrapped around your finger. As soon as you wimper one of them is trying to pick you up or entertain you. Levi, you are very loved and I hope you always know it. I'm so excited to get to know you, my son, and to experience raising a Levi-Man.

Love you always,

Mommy

relaxing together

This is the picture I mentioned with the girls wearing their rings while floating together .

And this one shows how Libby got on the raft. Just stepped off the side of the pool. Scary!

Precious little friends...

was the subject of an email I just opened. It contained these pictures of Levi and Court.

The kids and I spent the day swimming at Court's Meme's (is that what you're gonna be called, Debbie?) house. We had lots of fun. In fact, the minute we pulled into our garage Addison asked me when we'd be going back. Before I could answer she asked, "Next Saturday?!"

My camera battery died just as we started taking pictures of the boys. I did get one or two but won't be able to get them onto the computer until I find a new battery. That means I won't have the cute picture I got of the girls sharing a raft while both wore their (inflatable) rings. Thankfully, Debbie also sent out a couple pictures of the girls.

Thanks Debbie, Larry, Ashley and Court for a wonderful day!

What I've been seeing lately

VACATION

MY LOOK ALIKES

SMILEY BOY


SPLASH PARK WITH COUSINS

IN A MONSTER TRUCK

MR. SERIOUS

What I've been hearing lately

addi "Daddy, your car is so much nicer than Mommy's car because of all this fur everywhere!"
(we force our children to ride around in my van with leather seats most of the time...we're mean like that!)

addi "Will I have maids to help me get my dress on?"
(i couldn't wait and told her she's gonna be a flower girl...think she's seen a few too many disney princess movies!?)

libby "I can't do all these stuff!"
(anytime i ask her to do something she doesn't want to do, so i hear it quite a lot)

libby "'Tend I'm a baby."
(weird, this phase started a little over 3 months ago!)

levi [the sweetest baby noises I might've ever heard]
(he cooos, and blows bubbles, and i've even heard what might be a giggle a few times.)

levi [stuffy nose noises and frustrated crying]
(poor thing can't kick a cold. he's still eating well and smiles all the time though.)