It takes a village...

(April 2012)
They say it takes a village to raise a child. I'm a firm believer in that saying. I know I could probably raise my kids by myself but I also know that I don't want to at all. I love and appreciate my husband, family members and friends who pitch in and help me with my children. I think I should modify that saying a little bit and say that it also takes a village to help get a child to bed, even of that village is a village of Care Bear stuffed animals!!! Joe and I have never been strict parents when it comes to keeping a schedule. We try our best but life somehow creeps in and will interrupt our perfect plans 9/10 times. This is especially the case when trying to get Ryan out of our bed! She has slept with us since birth. We even sold her baby furniture before Brittyn was born and she slept in a pack-n-play in our room when she was born. We eventually bought a bed for the girls and began to target our efforts into getting them to sleep in their own room. It took a while but this spring Ryan spent her first night in the bedroom all by herself. We were so proud of her and decided to snap sleeping pictures of her to mark the occasion!!! When I went in to see how she was doing, I saw that she had found comfort in several of her Care Bear friends. I was so touched by her innocent and sweet face and that she felt so secure. I hope all my children can feel that way all the time, not just bedtime. Maybe then they will all be able to sleep in their own rooms!!!








*MSL*

Easter photo shoot

(March 2012)
Trying to get my girls to cooperate for a photo shoot is truly a feat. Thank goodness I am lucky enough to have great sisters who act as my "silly girls" behind the camera in an effort to get the children to show some other emotion than disdain for what I'm making them do in order to have memories. One day they will thank me for it, as they try to make their own children sit for photos. So, back in March I met up with Laura Wahlquist in Blountstown to try and get some shots of the girls for Easter. We met at the pioneer settlement which I hadn't been to in a long time. The photo shoot started out a little rocky but we eventually were able to get some great pics. I would say the girls had a great time, but who am I kidding?! They were in dresses, ruffle socks and dress shoes instead of sneakers, t-shirts and shorts and they had to sit and smile when all they wanted to do was run around outside. Thank goodness for the quick hands of our photographer, Laura and the help of Terah and Kylia to help us come up with some great pictures!































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The dreaded Easter bunny...

(March 2012)

One Saturday afternoon, I got Kylia to go with me to the mall to get pictures of the girls with the Easter bunny. Jaren had gone earlier that day or week and Bellamy had loved the bunny so much, she only cried when they were making her leave. Well, my experience was a little bit different. You will notice that the only pictures with the Easter bunny have Ryan in them. I got the girls dressed in really cute coordinating dresses and went to the mall where we waited in line in excess of 15 minutes. When it was our turn to see the bunny, Brittyn Gray did a complete 180 degrees and refused to go near the bunny. Even with Kylia and I offering lots of treats and Ryan promising to hold her hand the whole time, she would not budge. We finally gave up, thanked the bunny, received our complimentary bunny and sheep masks and left. We ended up letting the girls play at the park inside the mall then going to get the girls a treat for making the effort. Overall it was an interesting trip and as I write this post from my experience back in March and now we are in the month of November, I can't help but think Santa will be at the mall soon. I can only hope that jolly old St. Nick doesn't scare my Brittyn Gray away from the possibility of cute pictures. I'm gonna cross my fingers and pray that having Huntington will make things a lot easier. Did I say easier?!!! I must be delirious!!!





























*MSL*

More Easter pics 2012

After church, we had dinner at Grandpa and Grandma's. We had a good meal and tried to get some pictures. Grandma continues to be a wonderful photographer, always able to catch shots of the children in their most "real" moments. They like to ham it up for the camera and she gets some great shots, and they love to see themselves on the blog so I'll be sure to post lots of pics for them!

















*MSL*

Bunnies and chicks

(April 2012)

I try not to have a huge Easter basket for the girls. It's not enough that they get candy out the wah-zoo, but it just takes away the meaning of the meaning of Easter and the message of the resurrected Jesus Christ. That's not something I ever want them to forget. Alas, I do give Easter baskets and want them to enjoy their day as children as well. They enjoy seeing their baskets and putting on their pretty new Easter dresses. I love seeing their faces as we get dressed and I attempt to remind them of the true meaning of this special holiday.





Ryan is hugging her new Champ care bear. She was pretty torn up over losing her last one b/c Brittyn tossed it out the car window on the way home one day.





*MSL*

Prepared not scared

March-April 2012
Joe and I have been trying for a while to get Ryan to sleep in her own bed. Yes, I will admit that we are those parents that let their children sleep in their beds from a very young age, birth to be exact. We needed sleep and that's how we got it. Then Brittyn came along and we eventually had four people in one bed. Again, it was a matter of getting sleep. So this spring we bought a bed to put in their room and started trying to get them to sleep in it, starting with Ryan only. The first night was tough but we eventually made it. I got a few shots of different nights and mornings, so these aren't all the same. She learned that she could feel safer with friends sleeping with her so she loaded all the reinforcement she could find in the bed with her and made it through the night. Now Brittyn is sleeping in there as well and we don't always get a full week of them sleeping in their room but we are working on it. One day we'll get there, I'm sure of it.








*MSL*

Days of Summer

(Spring, Summer 2012)

The long, hot days of a Florida summer call for lots of pool time and Popsicles (and by summer I mean from about mid March through the end of September and sometimes a little longer). My girls got plenty of both. They swam 3-4 days out of the week and I was able to join them after work a few times. After the winter I was glad to add some color back to my skin. They always have a blast in the pool and they never want to leave. I'm so happy to be able to make memories with them and have pictures of their happy, smiling faces!

















They must have seen Leah and I doing the same thing a little too much.


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Mother's Day

May 2012)
This picture is better than any present I could ever get. My two girls playing in the mess after I opened my Mother's Day gifts. I was glad to get rid of the mess but hated to take away their "new toy" according to Ryan. I did get some nice stuff that I had "mentioned" to Joe and I can't wait to display in another house but I really couldn't ask for more than happy, healthy children who give me reason to celebrate a special day as a Mom or any day at all.


*MSL*

Our tiny dancer...

(May 2012)

I just realized that all my blog titles reference "I" or "Me" or "My," but this blog is supposed to be from OUR family's point of view. From now on, I'm gonna try and speak from OUR (myself and Joe's) point of view, even though I have always and will probably continue to be the only author for OUR blog.

So, let me get back to what I was actually going to post about. I'm still writing from this year and I'm still on Ryan's dance class and dance recital. She loved her costume and once we got it and tried it on, she wanted to wear it every day. I couldn't let her but wen the day finally came, she was so excited. We put it on for the dress rehearsal and waited backstage for our turn to dance. She and her cousin Amelia were so excited along with their classmates. I was able to get a few pictures before she went on stage. It just, and still does make my heart melt to see how fast she is growing and how she is no longer my "baby," especially since as of today when I write this I have TWO other babies in addition to Ryan. I am so blessed with all my babies and they are all growing up way too fast. I guess I've just gotta enjoy them while I can because its going by way too fast.

The next day was the big recital, the show was great and our tiny dancer was nothing less than incredible. She was so brave and we loved having her extended family there to support her on her big day.




















*MSL*