Maddie turns 6!

My Maddie girl turned 6 today! I really can't believe how big she is getting. Every year when I look back I am both sad and excited to see just how much she has grown. We had a birthday party on Saturday since family was going to be in town for the ballgames. I had asked Maddie weeks ago what kind of party she wanted and she told me Hello Kitty, and I think everyday since then it changed. Finally last Wednesday I said "Maddie you are going to have to tell me what kind of party you want so that I can buy plates and napkins and make a cake." To that she replied "you know my favorite flower, violets, well I want a purple party with flowers and small jars with purple flowers in them." Ok, I can do that...

Here's Maddie with her purple flower cake.

Here is her birthday table. Notice the small jars with purple flowers.

Opening Day!

Baseball and softball season has started! We have two kids playing this year and it is already hectic with practice and now games. Opening day started with a parade...


Here's Ian pointing to his name on the truck. The boys rode in the trailer and were super excited. Go Mustangs!!!


Maddie in the back of the Ladybug truck.


Here's the truck from the front. Isn't it cute! They won 1st place for their float...go Ladybugs!


Cole just hanging out being cute!


Maddie is up to bat. Look at my sweet little slugger all ready to hit the ball. She definitely has her stance down.


Here she is on first base! I think her softball tattoo makes her run faster.


Cole exploring the park!


Coach Daddy giving Ian some pointers.


My big slugger hydrating himself. Man, it was hot out there!


Ian up to bat. They are using a pitching machine and it scares me to death seeing that ball fly at him. I would have gotten a better picture of him at bat but I was trying to watch for foul balls. There seems to be a lot of them and I'm pretty sure they hurt.


At the end of the day everyone was tired, but the boys had just enough energy to teach Grandaddy how to play Angry birds!

Here's my sweet baby...oh, how he loves his Mickey!

picture for mommy!

Maddie always draws pictures for me. It's one of my favorite things! When I pick her up from school I ask her what she did that day and I'll go through her schoolwork. She always has lots of drawings, some from other kids to her, some from her to other kids, even some for her daddy and I always look at them and secretly wonder if there is going to be one for me. I remember months ago when she practiced for days to draw a heart so that she could give me a picture with one on it. It was so sweet and I think I cried when she handed it to me. And I keep them all even against Ryan's wishes. He thinks we should just take a picture of her picture and keep it on the computer, but there is just something about having the actual piece of artwork. Like reading an actual book - it's just comforting.Well, this is the picture she gave me yesterday and it's one of my favorites so far, complete with bees, flowers, bugs and even a worm. I could hang these things all over my house! I love my Maddie girl!

I don't think I posted a blog the entire year of 2011. In fact, I know I didn't. That's really sad because we had a lot happen to us as a family that year - growing kids, tornado, lightening strike killing our dog pepper, tornado, celebrating 10 years of marriage, did I mention a tornado... I'm actaully not sure that anyone will read this because if there was anyone that read my blog to begin with they have most certainly quit for lack of postings. Anyway, I believe I'll start posting again (I go through kicks), and I want to start off with Coleman who is now 2 and loves chocolate milk or as he calls it "choc". He would drink it all day if I would let him and he refuses to drink white milk. He makes me laugh every morning because he gets so excited when he gets his first cup.

this is Coleman excited that I am getting him chocolate milk. I know it's a close up but he wouldn't stand back from the camera.


this is coleman mad and upset with me because I didn't put enough chocolate in his "choc". He actually followed me to another room just to fall on the floor as I turned around and then he fussed at me saying something like "no, no choc, no mama, no" And I knew, because I have been trying to wean him from so much chocolate, what I had done and why he was mad at me. So, I did what any good mom would do who has a boy who loves chocolate milk as much as mine - I poured in more Hersheys syrup until it looked like there just might be more syrup than milk and then I handed it back to him. The boy sure does love his chocolate chocolate "choc"!

October 2010

We had a wonderful October! It started out with Ian going on his first field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. I went with him and we had so much fun! He got to ride the school bus for the first time (I believe that was the highlight of his trip), and I got to meet a lot of his little friends and their parents. We spent most of our time hanging out with his "best" friend Jeremy. It was fun watching those two together. I don't think I've ever seen two little boys as excited about pumpkins as they were. The next week Ryan and I went to eat lunch with Ian to celebrate him getting the Citizen of the Month award. He was so proud (and we were too)! He got a certificate, a ribbon, and his picture was taken and put on the wall outside the lunchroom. We also took the kids to a Fall Festival at Ian's school this month. It was the first time they had ever been and they loved it! They played games, won prizes, and even got their hair painted (thanks Paul)!

Coleman turned 9 months old on the 13th. He is getting so big! He has a mouth full of teeth (8) and he crawls everywhere! He's personality is definitely starting to come out. This is the age, I think, when baby's are the most fun. They really start interacting with others and Cole loves to interact with Ian and Maddie. He will follow them around and laugh at what they are doing. Of course he also tries biting them and then laughs at that too. He has started drinking juice out of a sippy cup and on occasion will still eat baby food but prefers food he can hold in hand. oh, and he is so handsome (I know he is mine but I have to say it).

This month I also went to a lot of showers for my niece Emily, who got married on the 22nd. The showers were fun and the wedding was beautiful! Ian was the ring bearer and got to wear a tuxedo. He looked so handsome and he knew it. He spent the entire ceremony winking at people and nodding his head like he was cool :) Maddie was the flower girl and was beautiful! She had a little problem getting down the aisle, so her cousin Katie and I tried to persuade her but she ended up sitting on the front row with us (cute none-the-less). There were so many family and friends that came together and made the wedding beautiful. It was definitely worth all the work.

After the wedding we spent the rest of the weekend in Tennessee celebrating Bopa's birthday. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and trying to play with Bopa's new remote controlled boat. They got to make cute ghost cookies with Nana, which seems to have become a tradition, and they had a lot of fun doing that. We also went to Erin and David's so that Ian could shoot a gun. It was his first time and he was really excited, especially when he hit the target (a big box). He, of course, now wants one for his birthday.

We ended the month with costumes, candy, and a birthday party. Our friend Jaiden turned one and we celebrated it on the 30th. All the way to the party the kids were trying to figure out why Jaiden was one but Cole was not. We tried to explain the concept of being 11 months and then turning 1 year old, but I'm not sure they quite understood. That night we went to Publix for trick or treating. Ian was Superman, Maddie was a bee and Cole was a pumpkin. Most people won't go to a grocery store for their Halloween fun, but we really enjoy it. Plus Hannah, Jaiden, and Xander came and it is always fun when lots of kids are together. I love going to Publix because it's like a mini fall festival. The kids get to play games and then they win fruit, cookies, popcorn, and candy. And this year they had face painting, although it was a little difficult to decipher what the lady had painted on their faces, it was still fun :) On Halloween we had trunk or treating at our church. The kids had a great time! Everyone stayed after and the kids got more candy then we need or could possibly eat. I think Ian went around 3 or 4 times. We ended the night with Granny and Grandaddy and free meals at Chili's. Now that October is over, and I am thoroughly exhausted, bring on November...black Friday, my birthday, and Thanksgiving!

Maddie's "Stanastics"

Here are some pictures of Maddie at gymnastics. She takes it with her friend Hannah. They are not the best quality of pictures because I can't get the camera on the right setting (I'll try again next week). She loves her class, her teacher Mrs. Wendy, and her new pink leotard (she slept in it the first night after we bought it). It's fun to watch her come out of her shell and try new things and meet new kids. I was worried that because she is usually so shy that maybe she wouldn't like it...I was definitely wrong.