Ridin' Rockin' and Livestockin': Allie's Special Day at the Fair

 It was time for Allie to have another Special Day with just Mommy and Daddy and what better way to spend a beautiful Fall day that at the State Fair. I knew that my Allie was a dare-devil but I was shocked at her courage to ride every ride that she was tall enough to ride. She would be hands-in-the-air screaming having a blast and there would be adults beside her stricken with fear. I love that she takes after her Daddy in that aspect. My ride resume ends at the Farris Wheel (of the Fairy Wheel as Allie called it.)

 We started her off in the barns looking at all the animals because we knew we would never get her off the rides once she got on. John laughed and she and I and our amazement with a cow!

 Here she is winning her first fair prize. We tried to keep the games to a minimum afraid that she might think it was like shopping for toys.

 First Roller Coaster Ride. She was all smiles the whole time!

 I love the relationship that John and Allie have. My Dad was so special to me and I gained so much confidence from him. I am blessed that John is the Dad that he is. He loves his children and is committed to spending as much time with them as possible.

 There came a point in the day when I wondered who was having the most fun! John said she never acted scared or stopped smiling and laughing!

Love This!

 This ride when FAST! It went forwards for a while and then went backwards. Allie laughed and smiled the whole time. She said later that this was her favorite ride. Of course it was! It was the fastest!

Pumpkin Patch

 Allie's Preschool Class went to the Pumpkin Patch. I was excited about going this year because last year I wasn't able to have much fun because I was pregnant and sick all the time. This year John and I were both going to go until Sam poked John in the eye and he spent the day at the Eye Doctor. So Allie and I had a Mommy-Daughter Day. She loved being able to run and play with all of her friends.

 She especially loved the hayride to the maze and all of the "animals" in the woods that we saw.

 Here she is up in the tree house playing. I'm not sure why but last year I thought I had to do everything with her. This year, I just enjoyed watching her have fun without having to climb in a tree house. You live and learn!

 Here is Allie with her buddy Joe Duke....I fear these two are two of a kind and may become Benton High School's worst nightmare! I love that Allie makes friends easily and never meets a stranger.

Here the kids are learning about "Bad Bart." Afterwards we loaded the kids back on the hayride just in time for the shoot-out between Bad Bart and Sheriff Papaw. Then we got to explain to all of the 4-year-olds why these men were shooting each other. OH the joys of parenting! It was a fun day and Daddy's eye is all better.

Sam: 7-Months

 I love this picture of my Sam. It totally captures this time in our lives. He is MOBILE! He went from being able to sit up to army-crawling all over the place in a matter of minutes. He was barely sitting up by himself when John and I walked in his room one night and he had pulled up on the side of the bed and was leaning over the rail. Time to lower the crib! He is also wanting to see and play with anything that anyone else has. John and I think its cute....Allie....not so much! We are having to teach her about sharing with him and about not letting him get to her books and special toys. It is a busy, busy time for us, but I absolutely love this place we are in.

 Here are some Sam Stats for 7-Months:

Weight: 21 pounds
Teeth: 8!!!
Wearing 12 months
Shoe size 3
Loves, Loves, Loves his Paci
Eating 2 jars of Baby Food 2-3 times a day
Formula Gentle-Ease thickened
STILL getting up 1-2 times a night. We have tried to put him back to sleep without a bottle but he usually wins. We are weak at 3 AM!
Loves his sister!
Has his Papaw wrapped around his fingers and can get him to pick him up and take him outside at the drop of a hat.
Says DaDa A LOT! I think I have heard Mimi too, but I can't confirm it.
He is sitting unsupported, army crawling, and can moving back and forth between sitting and crawling.

Sam, You are my joy and I am so blessed to be your Mommy. I pray that God would watch over you and protect you and that He would do great things through you. Mommy and Daddy and Als love you to the moon and back!

Sam: 6-Months

 This is my fun-loving Sam to a "T." He is sweet, spirited, and in to EVERYTHING! If I could afford it, I would have a house full of little boys. I totally love being a Boy-Momma. Don't get me wrong, I love my girl with all of my heart and I couldn't live a day without her, but if we were to have more children, I would want more boys.

 So John brought it to my attention that we celebrated every month of Allie's first year of life and as he put it, "We haven't done squat for Sam..." So...challenge accepted! In about 2 hours, I had a party planned and a cake bought to celebrate Sam's 1/2 Birthday. Let me tell you, if you are ever in a pinch, Harps is your place to go for a quick cake. It was delicious and the girl customized it for me in less than 10 minutes.

 We (Allie and I) decided to go with the Caillou theme. Allie loves watching Sprout therefore Sam loves watching Sprout and we think Sam looks a lot like Caillou (pronounced Kie-you). So it was an easy decision. They even had a 1/2 Birthday candle. (Who Knew?!)

 I wanted to get a picture of Sam with his cake, but THIS, I was not expecting AT ALL! I stood back to take a picture and when I looked through the view finder....This is what I saw. Oh Well....a little cake never hurt anyone! I will have to share that I had to warn Miss Bridget because his spit up and diaper were a little yellow-tinged from the food coloring. Ha!

 Sister helping him out....although I would say he had this one under control!

 John and I have been debating about his hair color. I say its Strawberry Blonde- Red....John says I'm crazy.... What do you think?

Sam Stats:

Weight: 20 lbs 13 oz (85%)

Length: 27 3/4 inches (76%) Oh No! He may take after Mimi's side of the family

Head Circumference: 18 inches (86%)

Teeth: 4 (working on a couple more) However, the 4 that he has are his bottom middle teeth and his upper "I" teeth...making him the cutest vampire in town.

Starting to sit with and without support. Loves his "Jump-Jump." Will get up on his hands and knees and rock back in forth....I know its coming soon!

Allie's 1st Day of 4-Year-Old Preschool

 There are times in my life where I tend to try to plan every detail out in my head long before the event ever gets there. It is usually in those times where the Lord laughs and reminds me that He is the boss of my life and that means He gets the final say. Allie's first day of Preschool was one of those days. I had bought her a shirt that I had picked out around the 3rd day of 3-year-old preschool. I had her nap-mat, her backpack, and her lunch box all monogrammed and ready. I had taken off work that morning so that I could join the paparazzi that is Mom's of preschoolers. I had it all planned out.....And then we got hammered with the stomach bug followed closely by Allie getting strep throat. So, Allie was home in bed sick on the first day of school this year. Never fear, my camera works on Wednesdays too. So I told Bella's mom that we were going to stage a 1st Day of School on what was actually the 2nd day of school. Everyone played along and if I hadn't told you the story, you couldn't tell any different from the pictures.... So now I must confess my inability to keep my mouth shut... All that staging and then I blew my cover right out of the gate. Ha!

 Sweet girls! I am going to be sad that they will not be together for their first day of school in kindergarten.

 Allie and her Mrs. Susan! Susan was like a second mom to me when I was a little girl and it melts my heart the way my Allie loves her. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful place for Allie to go to and that she absolutely loves being there!

Sam: 5 Months Old

My sweet boy is growing so fast. He is playing and interacting and I am falling in love with him over and over every day. We have been battling a cold and cutting teeth for almost 2 months now and we ended up getting behind on his check-up schedule so this month we went in for his "4-month" check-up. Here are some of Sam's Stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 13 oz (88%)

Length: 26 3/4 inches (82%)

Head Circumference: 18 inches (97%)

We are beginning to wean him off of his expensive formula and try him on Gentle-Ease which is what Allie was on. We are hopeful and excited that he might be getting over all of his GI issues that plagued those early months.

He now has 2 teeth on the bottom and he is trying to cut his "I" teeth next.

He absolutely is crazy about his sister! He laughs at her constantly and will nearly break his neck to try to find her in a room to see what she is doing.