Brooke Getting Her Ears Pierced

After our visit to the dentist a few months ago, Brooke has been working really hard to stop sucking her fingers. She was doing really good during the day, but at night it was a bit more difficult. We had tried everything we could think of, all of which were unsuccessful. Finally, she had found this small mesh bag of Austin's that used to hold his nerf dart gun darts in it. We would put it around her hand and waalaa, magic! It worked!

We made a deal with her that she could get her ears pierced if she stopped sucking her fingers. That was enough to make her want to stop sucking them. She had to stop sucking them for a whole week in order to get her reward though. The real test came on Friday night when we told her she would need to sleep without the little bag on her hand. She was sure she couldn't do it! "I need that bag!" We had a special talk with her and advised her to say a special prayer and someone that was stronger than her bag could help her. She went in my room and prayed her little heart out, and that night slept without sucking her fingers. Something she hasn't done since she was born.

We were very proud of her, and kept our part of the deal by taking her to the mall to get her ears pierced.

She was

a bit nervous, but put on her game face and forged ahead. She

chose little pink daisies for her earings and

listened carefully as the lady told her how to take care of them. When she got done we thought she would be bursting with excitement, but she wouldn't really talk about it until we got in the car. It wasn't until we were at the drive thru at McDonald's to get her a special treat that she finally opened up and had a big grin on her face. We are very proud of you Brooke for working so hard at something that was very difficult for you.

Scott 2 Month Update

I am a little behind on my updating, Scott turned two month's old on the 2nd. Mom, you were asking what he is all doing now-these pictures show it all. He loves to smile, stick out his tongue, and play with his hands. He has figured out how to get his hands in his mouth and now he loves to suck on them all day. He is ticklish on his tummy-it's so fun to rub his cute little round tummy. He seems so big to me now. We weighed him and he is over 11 pounds .

I just put away the first round of baby clothes back in the bin the other day. It was a little sad to put them away and say good bye to that part of his life. I love when they are newborns, but I say that about every stage. Now I think this is my new favorite time. He is such a joy!


It is fun to watch the other kids get so excited when he learns something new. He is old enough to be in his exersaucer now. He doesn't really play with the toys, but Erika and Abby are more than happy to entertain him while he is in it.

I love this picture of him. He has so much spunk. Brianna and Austin were getting him to copy them the other day. They would stick out their tongue, then he would. They would say something and he would coo back. He was enjoying having their undivided attention.

He still has as much hair as he was born with. A lady at church said, "He looks like he needs a hair cut already!" When the girls were born they had a lot of hair as well. With theirs it was great because I had hair to clip little bows in. When Austin was born he was bald. I don't quite know what to do with a boy with so much hair. The little girls sure do though. They get out their brushes and take turns brushing his hair or using a baby wipe and getting his hair wet to make it all curly. A real live little baby doll, what could be better than that.

A Presidential Train Ride

To celebrate Presidents' Day we took the kids on a train ride that visited the place where Jimmy Carter grew up. They had never been on a train before, and were looking forward to it very much. Every day working up to it Erika would ask, "Are we really going on a train?" almost in disbelief.

We had to make a couple hour drive to get to the place where we would board the train, the SAM Shortline Excursion Train. We put Scott in the baby bjorn, grabbed our sack lunches for the day, picked up our tickets, and boarded the train. The kids were so excited to be in seats that faced each other and ones where they didn't have to wear seatbelts. There were big windows on both sides that provided a great view for all to see the countryside. There was a lady who played the accordian for us, a man dressed in overalls and a train hat, and a conductor who came through and punched our tickets. The kids were hoping for someone to break out in song and start bringing in the hot chocolate just like Polar Express, but no luck this trip.

As we started ou,t the kids kept hoping it would go faster and faster. I think they had visions of this fast racing roller coaster type ride instead of a stroll through the backwoods of Georgia. They had a concession car with snacks and a little shop. Brooke and Erika used some of their money and bought paper fans for the ride. The kids enjoyed a little excitment when they noticed that the cars next in line would shake and move from side to side a lot. After that they all wanted to take walks from one car to the next and try to keep their balance and not fall. Abby wasn't interested much in that game, she just enjoyed her spot by the window and let me take pictures of her. What a good sport!



Abby was so excited everytime she heard the train blow it's whistle. She would stop, look at me, and say with wide eyes, "Did, you hear that? It's a train!" Scott at two and a half months was the youngest rider of the day, and spent most of his trip asleep snuggled in the carrier on Aaron's chest.

We road the train to Plains Georgia where we heard Jimmy Carter speak at Plains high school which is now a museum/tourist place to visit. The kids were a bit bored, so we ventured outside to play in the sun. We had cake and punch to celebrate, stopped at the peanut store for some treats, and reboarded the train for our trip home.

As we rode back the "accordian lady" made animals/shapes out of balloons for the kids, and they got free popcorn that was left over from the trip there. It was a great day visiting some historic sites right in our own backyard.

HELP WANTED : Translator position

The kids are always coming up with new cute things they are saying. Here are some of our recent favorites.

Snowflakes-snowflicks As in: "I wish it would snow here so we could catch some snowflicks on our tongue"
Kiwis-Peewees "I love peewees for breakfast"
Earmuffs-Earmuffins "It's cold out, you might need some earmuffins on so your ears don't get cold"
Blind-Blindfolded "If I look at the sun too long will I get blindfolded?"
Feeding-Eating "When your done eating Scott can I hold him."
Discussed it-Disgusted "They couldn't decide what to plant in their garden, so they disgusted"
Bouncy seat-Bouncy ball- "Can you lay Scott in his bouncy ball"
Litter-Glitter-"Look at all that glitter that people threw on the ground!"

Healthy Competition

In Brooke's Kindergarten class they bring home word lists to help them learn sight words in preparation for reading. After the new year the teacher was requesting they bring their red folder in each week to help speed things along.
Today when I picked up Brooke from school she got in the car and in her very animated voice informed me she needed to bring back her red folder back.

"I know" I said. "

"No, mom. I need to bring it back. They other kids are on like word list 8 or 9 or10. They are ALL beating me!"

Nothing like a little healthy competition to keep the wheels of learning rolling.

In case I didn't get the message she left me this note by my plate at dinner time.
"You hfae to sine my red fodroe. Mome "

Love Is In The Air

We have been getting a little Valentine's fever around here the last week. We hung up one of our favorite Valentine's decorations, these cute floating hearts. I saw it in a magazine a few years ago, and they have been our favorite ever since. We cut out hearts from some craft foam, took some fishing string, and glue gunned them to it. We then just taped them up.

I love to keep up some of my red Christmas decorations right through Valentine's Day, my family room wall is one example. I love these vases, they are so versatile. In other seasons I put real flowers in them, but for now they are home to a little bit of red.

The kids as well have been getting excited for their Valentine's party at school next week. It brings back great memories from my youth. It was always a big deal to make a special Valentine's box to take to school the day of the party. We would get out the glitter and fancy doilies and cut and paste to our hearts content. We would write out a card for each person in our class and add some candy hearts to the envelope, careful as not to give any mushy ones that said "I love you" or "kiss me" to the boys. Yuck!

My kids are no different, for the past couple days they have been busily signing cards on these cute little treat bags we made. (Thanks Lisa for the inspiration from your blog for the little logo on the front. ) It's always a treat on the day of the party to see them come home and all sit on the floor to open their Valentine's. They sort through the candy and compare the "love notes" they received from their friends. Isn't being a kid great!

A New Blog

I have added another blog for all my scrapbook and photography fun. The link in on the side column. Come on in and take a peek if you have a chance. Hopefully I can get to posting some stuff in the next few days, so if there's nothing there now check back soon.