Celebrating 5!

This handsome little man of ours turned FIVE last Friday.

Five.

Excuse me while a go cry a moment.

..........................................................................

OK, I'm back.

This sweet, lovable, ball of fire is so much fun. It is almost midterm of the first half of school and we can't believe how much progress he has made already. He is doing much better with color, number & letter recognition and can write his name on his own. He loves riding the bus and attending school. His love for his sister is steadfast and unchanging. He goes where she goes and does what she does. This is both good and bad as I'm sure you can imagine.

He loves playing in the yard or out front and has become quite the proficient rider on his razor scooter. He learned how to ride his bike without training wheels way back on Mother's Day but hasn't shown any interest in riding again since then. Go figure.

Dawson loves to be his Daddy's helper. The morning of his birthday the two of them spent in the front flower beds trimming back the rose bushes, ornamental grass and {gasp} pulling out all the mums.

Ms. Kiersten baked and decorated Lego sugar cookies for both Dawson's classroom celebration as well as his party that evening at the park. 

(I'm hungry for one right now as I look at that photo)

We had a small party/celebration at Black Hoof Park Friday evening with just a handful of friends.

Dawson with two of his classmates, Dexter & Brandon. Oh, Dexter buddy. That face!

Little man had a short wish list this birthday. It consisted of a dream lite (see above picture and his excitement), a replacement DS, a robot toy and a new remote control car or truck. He received each of those as well as added to his Lego collection.

This was the face we got when he opened his "new" DSI, case & Lego game. He was thrilled to say the least.

I do my best to remind D often that although he is getting bigger and isn't the baby of the family anymore that he is and always will be our baby boy. He soaks it up when he hears us say it. I'll continue carrying him to bed and letting him crawl up in my lap as long as it will last! 

We love you Boo! Happy 5 years little dude!

Meadow Lane Jogathon 2012

Gabi participated in her elementary school's annual Jogathon fund raiser event and her very first Spirit Squad performance on Tuesday night.Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of her Spirit Squad performance. I did intend to video it as Travis had to work BUT the video camera battery was completely dead and the video clip I did manage to take with my phone a goliath of a girl was standing right in front of her blocking her.

Our 2nd grade beauty running her heart out. She had a difficult time this year due to her allergies and associated asthmatic cough. She did her best while not pushing herself too hard.

A concerned Papa encouraged Gabs to take a break for a drink of water. Gabrielle enjoyed having Papa join her on a several laps. They walked them because of Papa's bad knee.

Little Miss was right in the mix of all the action. She didn't miss the opportunity to keep up with the bigs on the playground equipment, watch all the girls perform with the Spirit Squad or join in the running during the jogathon. She was right in the middle of it all. Maybe a little too much so :)

Gabrielle with her amazing teacher, Ms. Mary Williams.

Just Me & Little Miss

Well hello! This little blog break of mine hasn't been intentional. I've just been occupying my time with other things. You know like relishing in the peace & quiet of the afternoons while #1 & #2 are off at school and baby girl is fast asleep; catching up on reading (I'm currently doing two Bible study plans via You Version, a Beth Moore Bible study with the women's ministry at church, a marriage growth group study & reading another marriage related book with my mentor. That equals a lot of reading!); doing LOTS of childcare; cleaning, purging & reorganizing the playroom, laundry room & Gabrielle's bedroom; and most importantly enjoying this little ball of fire.

McKenna maneuvers her way into the exercauser and does one of two things. She either bounces like a mad child which creates an unbelievable level of noise or she spins herself dizzy twisting herself round and round. I caught a short little clip on video the other day because it really is a sight to see. If I were on top of things I would post the clip here. Use your imagination.

She has SO much personality for such a little thing. She is a going to be a trouble maker fo'sure. We can't seem to keep her off of the kitchen table and island and she is constantly getting into drawers, closets, oh and the most fun - the toilet. Gross! She'll even find stray razors and chew on them. True story. She continues to be a terrific eater and has mastered hitting the pantry door whilst demanding "Snack, please!" until we oblige.

How can you say no to these beautiful blue eyes? This momma finds it difficult to do.

These pictures are over a month old, but I wanted to include this photo to show how much her hair has grown. It is a mop of curls when it is wet. She is thee absolute cutest with a high ponytail or pigtails, but we don't do it often as they don't last.  

Baby girl,

My love for you is a crazy one! You are such a joy and delight. I lay in bed at night and often say to your daddy how I wished I could go into your room and swoop you up to snuggle in bed with us because I am not one bit eager for you to grow out of being a baby. Some of my current favorites with you are singing the B.I.B.L.E. song, the ABC's and most recently teaching you to count. You don't have the vocabulary that your siblings had at your age, but you have more than your fair share of words. You have started calling me "Mommy" versus "Momma" and my heart melts a little each time I hear you say it. You've also begun to call Gabrielle "Gabi" and call out for her often. Dawson is now "Daw" or "Bubby" instead of bubba and Micah has become "Maa." If I were to ask your Mema what her favorite thing is right now she would say when she sings to you, you press your head tight into her chest as if you are listening to the words from her heart versus those coming out of her mouth. You love loud music and dancing, food and Quila. Oh Quila ... if we had a quarter for every time you say her name, your college fund would be fat :) You are fiercely independent, fun loving, smiling and belly laughing most of the time but in keeping things real ... 

 When you get mad ...

You let it be known!

Love you Sunshine!! Forever and Always!

Mommy

Back in Session

Summer is over and that means a few things for us. The kids are back into the swing of school, school related activities, & Awana. It also means we are back into a routine which makes this momma happy happy happy! Here are a handful of pictures commemorating the kids 1st day of school 2012.

Gabrielle 2nd grade at Meadow Lane Elementary School 

My favorite food: pizza

I love to play: outside!

My favorite singing & dancing song: anything by Francesca Battistelli

A place I'd like to visit: Washington, D.C.

My favorite storytime book: Dolphin Tale

My favorite treat: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

My best friend is: I have a lot of best friends

I love the color: yellow

Dawson 2nd year of pre-K at Heartland Early Childhood Center as a peer model

Dawson with his amazing teacher Ms. Andrea

My favorite food: oatmeal, hot dog on a bun, macaroni & cheese

I love to play: my D.S., watch TV and play outside

My favorite singing and dancing song: whatever Sissy likes best

A place I'd like to visit: camping

My favorite storytime book: my  Bible Storybook

My favorite treat: candy & gum

My best friend is: Kellen

I love the color: orange

And sweet McKenna Jane, age 19 months who gets lots of loving at home with momma!

Parental Care Ministry

I'm so excited for the opportunity to partner with the beautiful Abbie from Five Days ... 5 ways in raising awareness as well as prayer and financial support for Parental Care Ministries. She and her family have supported the ministry for nearly 2 years now and are now supporting a 2nd child with the help of her blog supporters. Abbie is a beautiful, sincere, funny, frugalistic fantastic thrifter, God fearing, family oriented young momma of 3 young children with twin girls soon to make their grand appearance. I have been an avid follower for a period of time now. When Abbie gets serious on her blog (she's a comedian for reals folks) it is as if she speaks directly to me and encourages me in ways words can't describe. She is kind, genuine and humble. She and her hubby's love story is like no other! I know with full confidence that if distance weren't a factor we would be fast friends!

Abbie recently hosted a "silent" auction on her blog with 100% of the proceeds going toward the support of this sweet girl.

Meet 12 year old Sarah Birungi.

She is not an orphan (praise Jesus!), but her parents are poor farmers who can’t supply all her needs. In her own words, she loves to study. Her favorite subject is math. She is thankful for God’s protection. Her favorite Bible verses come from Proverbs 1-7. And she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Isn't she adorable?

With that being said I knew I wanted to come alongside Abbie and support this ministry if even in a small way. So how did I do that? I bid on and won these beautiful earrings. My donation will support Sarah Birungi for one month.

Lovely Green and Mint Double Drop Earrings which were donated to the auction by  Hilary of Accessory Dash 

How will my family and I continue to support Sarah?

By praying for her. I have printed her picture and have it displayed in our home. I have encouraged our kids to remember Sarah in their prayers and they are each working to save up their GIVE money (earned through a responsibility station we have just implemented) in Sarah's name to PCM. 

How can YOU  help? 

By partnering in prayer;

By financially supporting PCM through the monthly support of a child;

By visiting Abbie's blog and "Shop My Closet" where 25% of all proceeds go directly to the ministry;

By contributing any monetary amount to Sarah’s monthly support by e-mailing Abbie directly via the E-mail Abbie button on her blog

Parental Care Ministries exists to help poor and orphaned children of Uganda by meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs in the context of Christian schools. They equip 40+ pastors to spread the Gospel throughout Uganda.  

Isaiah 61: 1 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because  the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners. 

Embrace the Camera: August 9, 2012

This week's Embrace the Camera is all about making memories with our crazed monkeys better known as our kids. I feel as if we have been robbed of our normal summer traditions (playing in the fountains, visiting the zoo, playgrounds, the library story hour in the park, spending a long weekend at the lake ... the list goes on) with the unbearable temperatures and heat index this year along with Travis's "new" work schedule. He was lucky enough to have this past weekend off of work so we planned a little impromptu trip to Springfield and then on into Branson for the day. This is a glimpse at how we spent our time.

A stop at Branson Landing to do a little window shopping, back to school shoe & sock purchasing and a couple of great clearance finds at Becks.

Then it was FUN for the kids at the LEGO Summer Brickation, one of four nation wide locations located right in Branson Landing. We have already made a trip to the local Target store in pursuit of pricing several of

 the sets on their wish list.

 

After our play time at the LEGO stop it was snack time. 

What better than a powder covered funnel cake and "sugar" (Sprite)?

We left Branson Landing and headed to the money pit The Track where it was gals smoke the guys on the race track. You had better believe we had the pedal to the medal all.the.way!

For those of you who may have noticed, yes I fastened my seat belt before take off.

 

DaddyO and Little Miss cheering on Sissy

After the gals versus guys race, we hit up the bumper boats and then the kids go carts where Gabrielle proved to be a NASCAR contender.   

We ended the day with kids choice for supper which led us to IHOP or

International House Of PiggingOut

where our kids can eat their weight in syrup pancakes and eggs. 

There was a storm a brewing while we enjoyed our supper and the heavens dumped buckets of rain on us on our trek back into Springfield but we made it back safe and had a fun time!

Little Miss Mishap

Wednesday night was just like any other. The bigs headed out back to run off some wiggles and Travis and I plopped down in bed to watch a show while playing with McKenna who is never very far away. She is a climber in its truest form. She was on the bed, then off the bed again, then back on the bed. It was about 8PM when she climbed down from the bed and entered the hallway. Within a matter of seconds she let out a shrill cry. You know the one where it catches your attention? Well, this momma didn't move. McKenna ran back into the bedroom and I gently said, "What's wrong baby girl? Come see mommy." And she did. I scooped her up into my arms and she pressed her head into my chest. I was relishing in the snuggles when I saw blood. I quickly asked Travis to flip on the lights. Little Miss's mouth was filled with blood, the front of her dress was blood stained as was our pillow. When she opened her mouth all I could do was gasp and ask Travis to please take her as I immediately felt sick to my stomach as if I was going to throw up. She had bitten through her tongue BAD. After the excitement of the event and after our sweet neighbor, who just happens to be a pediatrician at Children's Mercy, stopped over to evaluate her we tried our damnedest to get a decent picture to no avail. These images don't even begin to touch on the visual aspect of the injury.

Notice her popsicle stained hands and face? It's the best form of icing for a toddler for sure.

She did this non stop for the 1st hour after the accident. She would clamp her top lip into the gaping hole in her tongue. So gross!

Here is the area of the bite "closed"

We approximate the cut measures 1/4 - 1/2 inch across

After many many tries to get a picture I took her into the bathroom where she loves to play in front of the mirror. Wouldn't you know she stuck her tongue right out! 

Here is the same image cropped in.

The pediatrician said the only time they render treatment (i.e. stapling and such) is when the tongue is completely severed or if the tongue is split in two. It should begin healing within 5 days. In the meantime we have to keep her on a soft diet and not allow her to eat anything that can become lodged in the "hole" such as corn, anything with seeds, etc. She is living it up on jello, pudding, yogurt, applesauce, bananas, fruit smoothies and popsicles of course! 

If I happen to capture a better picture I will be sure to share it. In the meantime I leave you with these adorable images.

The look of orneriness 

 Priceless

Little Ham