I am thankful for......

Thanksgiving came and went very quickly again this year and we enjoyed it so much. The kids had a big Thanksgiving feast at school on Tuesday and Sallie got to dress up like a Indian and parade around the school with the Pilgrims. Her Indian name was Rose Petal. They had a tee pee in their classroom and learned all about Thanksgiving. She loved the Tee pee and as you will see in the pictures at the end of the post, she loved it so much that she asked her Daddy to make her one at home and he did. He made one and Sallie and Anna played in for almost a hour straight while I cleaned up the kitchen on Wed. It was great. They even had a picnic lunch in it. We had Thanksgiving lunch Thursday with my parents and then traveled to Anderson on Friday to spend the weekend with Ward's family. We had a great time both places and are so blessed and lucky to have family to spend this Thanksgiving with. The kids loved seeing and playing with cousins. Sallie made a place mat at school where she wrote what she was thankful for. She was thankful for Ella, Sam, and Peppy and Pops. I asked her what about her Mama, Daddy, and Sister and she said that she forgot. Anna's bulletin board at school posted what each child was thankful for and Anna said that she was thankful for Macaroni and cheese at her Peppy and Pops house. So this is what they are thankful for this year...... Well I am thankful for my life, my children, my husband, my family, and so much more that God has blessed me with. I am one lucky wife and Mama...and I am thankful for the wonderful food that we consumed on Thanksgiving.

Anna's latest

I feel like I blogged so much about Sallie at this age and all her talking and pottying and playing ect. Poor second child, poor Anna!!! I feel like I do recognize all Anna's milestones just don't have the time anymore to blog about them. I do want to try harder to do this so that Anna and myself can look back on this and remember her cute little 2 year old self. Anna is talking like crazy and you can really understand everything that she says now. She says full sentences and really makes sense. She is so sweet natured. She tells me all the time when I get dressed up, Mama, you look pretty". It is really sweet. She loves to sing and "Jesus loves me is her favorite song". She is really funny about her bedtime routine these days. I have to put her to bed every night. She does not like any blanket on her and wants to always sleep in her ducks (bedroom shoes). She like to have a baby doll and a book in her crib with her. She usually calls for me very loudly atleast one time after putting her to bed and then she is good to go. She will tell me as I walk out of her room, "night night sweet girl". This is what I usually tell her and now she loves to tell me this. We are working on the potty thing with little success but I believe that when she really starts, it will be full on. She has gone on the potty about two times. I bought her some Dora panties to see if this would help . Anna loves to go to her school three days a week and especially loves Ms. Janice, her music teacher. I think that is because she loves music. I get to enjoy Anna one on one on Tuesdays and Thursdays and even though those days are usually filled with errands and other things, it is fun to do them with Anna. Anna's favortie food is hotdog cheese. This is really a hot dog (no bun) and slice of cheese. She will eat this anytime and anywhere. She is growing up and it is happening so quickly.

A PRINCESS and a princess

We had two princesses this year for Halloween. One little and one a little bigger. Anna was actually a fairy princess in the costume that Sallie wore last year and Sallie just chose a dress up outfit from her dress up bin and added some new high heel shoes and some makeup and we were good to go. They had a big party for Halloween at school Friday and trick or treated outside around the school. Saturday we had a dress up birthday party and Sunday we had another dress up birthday party before we went to our church party. We went to our church trunk or treat that night and had lots of fun and got lots more candy. We then trick or treated at three houses on our street. This was both Sallie and Anna's first time trick or treating at houses and they really liked it. Anna really did not know what to do but enjoyed eating the candy as she walked door to door. They were both precious as princesses and enjoyed Halloween. I am having to give the candy away because I can not stay out of it. The kids have been good with forgetting about it but I can not leave it alone.

Wooly Worm 2010

We went back to the Wooly Worm festival in Banner Elk, NC again this year and had a great time. The ride there was a 5 1/2 hour miserable trip however it was worth it in the end. We got a little turned around on the trip there and also had a sick little 2 year old that threw up all over herself and her car seat up the mountain. We finally arrived at Sugar top resort at 7 Friday night and went straight for the indoor swimming pool and hot tub. We stayed at Sugartop resort which is a really old highrise condo that is on the very top of Sugar mountain. I have stayed there about 3 or 4 times before when I was younger. We used to take a annual mountain trip with my family when I was younger and we always stayed there. I loved it then and we had a great time this trip too. I do not think that a thing has changed since I went there as a kid including the decor in the condos. We stayed on the 8th floor and had a great view of Sugar. WE went to the Wooly Worm on Saturday and had a great time and then watched the Gamecocks play and cooked out Saturday night with my sister, her family, and my parents who were staying in a house closeby. We hiked late afternoon Saturday and Sunday before we hit the road to head back home. No sickies on the way home but Anna loves to tell the story of how she throwed up on her knees. We decided that next year we need one more day there. Sallie took her Wooly worms to school on Monday along with a bag of beautiful leaves that we collected on our hike. Those Wooly Worms are still alive and I can not believe it. She has been feeding them lettuce everyday and they are eating it. I think that I decided that we could make a living selling Wooly Worms for this festival every year. The man said that they just go along the mountain and find 100's of them and then sell them at this festival for $2 per worm. We lost one of ours several times between Sat and Sun but kept finding them. I am not sure how I am going to explain them dying to Sallie but we will cross that bridge when it comes. I have hinted several times that they may have gone to Heaven...just trying to get her ready. Anyway, it was a great trip and we hope to do it again next year. I was saying that sometimes festivals are so stressful getting everyone there and happy ect. but these are memories that we are making and I have such wonderful memories of my mountain family trips that I hope Sallie and Anna will have too. Plus it is great family time with no work. computers, or answering work calls. Last year Sallie threw up all over herself and the car seat and had the big "D" on the side of the road going up the mountain and we forgot about all that and went back this year. This year Anna threw up all over herself and the car seat on the way up and was a little fussy the whole time but I am sure that we will forget about that and remember how much fun it was and go back to the Wooly Worm 2011.

Happy 2nd birthday Anna

Happy Birthday Anna! You are 2 going on 4. You try so hard to keep up with Sallie and it is so cute. You are such a big girl and are talking up a storm. You say full sentences now and you repeat everything. You are so cute and I am enjoying your age so much. Sallie, Daddy and I laugh at you all the time because you say the funniest things. You still love your sleep and will sometimes sleep until 8:30 or 9 if I let you. You are in the crib and will probably stay there until you are three. It will be really sad for me to pack that crib up. You love your babies and you love your new kitchen that you got for your birthday. You also love love love television and if I would let you watch it, you would do it all day. You love watching Dora at night. You had a really special day today on your birthday and thought it was great singing happy birthday to Anna. You blew out your two candles like a champ and then ate your doughnut. You loved your party and all your gifts. You got a special monkey for your birthday from Daddy. You saw this monkey in the store while shopping with us and did not want to put it back down. It is a good thing that Daddy was with us because I would have just put it back and left and just said that you would forget about it. Daddy had me take you outside and then he bought it and wrapped it up for your birthday. You loved opening it this morning. You have Daddy wrapped around your finger. You love to sing "Jesus loves me" and "Twinkle Twinkle little star" and you can say your blessing with Sallie and you try to say your prayers now. Some of your sayings that are not my favorite are "Sallie in timeout", "Bad girl" as you hit Sallie, and "mine first". Of course you learned all these from your sister and you learn Sallie in timeout from me as this is a phrase that has been said a lot lately. You are starting to test the boundaries a little but you are so cute that I have to catch myself and not laugh sometimes. Anna, you are so special and we love you so much. Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Anna !! I love watching you change and grow everyday. I wish that I could freeze you right where you are and keep you two forever. You are growing up way to quick..... I love you, Mama

Happy 4th Sallie

Happy 4th Birthday Sallie!! I know that I say this every year but really, 4? How can you be 4?? About 3 hours ago on this day you arrived and wow what a wonderful day that was 4 years ago and it gets better every year. Now with saying that I must add that it gets more challenging as well but what a joy you are in our lives. God has blessed me and your Daddy with you and continues to bless us daily. You really do light up our life. I hope that one day reading this blog you will truly know how funny and sweet you are through my entries and stories about you.

You loved your special day today and took full advantage of it being "your" day and I let you. You started with a cupcake for breakfast, cupcakes at school, your own bag of jelly beans from the fresh market, presents galore, and dinner at the Japanese restaurant with a sprite. That is big stuff. You are now in bed but still awake playing with your bubble gum machine. Thank the lord we got the one that you have to have a penny to get a piece of gum. By now you have probably figured out how to get the top off so I will go check soon. You asked me if it would be your birthday again tomorrow and I told you no. It is only one day sweet girl :) It has been a fun one.....I tried to think of some things in 4's that you do or have done. So I will start with this......

The top 4 things that I love most about you:

1) Your smile really does light up a room and melt my heart !!! It is also contagious...
2) You love to be close to me and snuggle or hug all the time. If you are sitting on the floor and I walk in the room to sit on the couch, you want to be next to me snuggling.

3) You are so smart and sneaky at the same time.

4) You are adventurous and outgoing and love meeting new people.

There are lots of other things but we will keep it limited to 4 for this entry.

The 4 funniest things that you have said in the last year that I will never forget because they totally embarrassed me:

1) You pointed at a man in publix and asked why there was a pirate in publix. He obviously had a eye surgery and had a patch over his eye.

2) There was a lady in publix again (i can never go in that store again) with long black/gray hair, and you said "look Mommy, there is a witch"

3) You pointed to a lady in Wal-mart and said that she had lost her front teeth like Sam (my nephew who is 6)

4) You told your teacher at school that I used "Sassy sauce" when you were sassy. disclaimer... I have only used one time and obviously it worked because you have not quit talking about it since.

There is one other one that is the best of all but i can not post on blog. You can ask me when you are older because I will never forget that one :)

Now let me tell you since then, we have had some serious conversations about what we whisper before we yell out in the store or in front of others. I am sure that some of those things could have been hurtful to others. The man that you called a pirate just looked at me and said "its ok". I am sure that my face was the color of a red apple about that time. You continue to make me laugh daily and you also continue to teach me all about a love that is the best ever. Sallie, I love you more everyday and you make my heart so full and happy. You are the cutest 4 year old that I know and we will get through these 4 's together. I am not sure if we have been getting through the end of the threes or the beginning of the 4's lately but they have been challenging and emotional days for you but we will conquer them and grow wiser together (this I pray). Happy Birthday Sweet girl!!!! I am so lucky that God blessed me with you. I love you............................... Mama

bath time and the zoo

We went to the zoo last week with Mary Grace and had a fun time. It was really hot but the icee helped cool the girls off. The new kangaroo exhibit was really neat and we fed the giraffes as well. By lunch time I was ready to go!!

Got a few cute pictures of the girls playing together at bath time tonight. After getting a few shots of them, they splashed and got the entire floor wet. Atleast they were playing nicely :) Anna looks so grown up in these pictures.

Ward and I got the opportunity to go to Reynolds Plantation for the weekend and my mom and Dad took the kids to the beach. We had so much fun and it was a much needed vacation. No pictures from our weekend. It is funny how I never have a camera unless I am somewhere with the kids. Anyway, the kids had a blast at the beach and I think they enjoyed a vacation without us as well. It was great to get home on Sunday and see them. The Ritz was nice and everything was at our fingertips but there is no place like home.

Summer, birthdays, and more

The summer is flying by and I realized I have not posted in a month and we have had so much going on. We have celebrated my Mom's 60th birthday with a party at my house. It was so much fun. Happy Birthday "Peppy". We celebrated my niece's birthday the next day. Happy 4th birthday Ella and now we are getting ready to celebrate Ward's birthday. Happy 35th Ward!!! July is a busy month. We went to the beach for July 4th and had a good time watching the fireworks and the flyover which was so neat. A c-17 flew across the SC coast low on the beach and we held American flags on the beach to see it pass by. I hope that this becomes a tradition because it was so neat. We have been to the pool a lot and the fort jackson water park. Anna now loves the water and is a little fish. She loves to go under water and try to swim. She has no fear. Sallie is a little more reserved about the water but warms up quick and likes to try to swim under water like a fish too. We did bible school at our church and started manners camp on Monday. I hope that Sallie gets a lot out of this. She always needs to be reminded and this will be a fun reminder of manners. I am sure that I am leaving a lot out. We are excited about starting our new classes at school in August. Anna will be in the 2's and Sallie in the 4's. Crazy!!!! Anna is talking up a storm and loves her babies now. She loves Dora and Swiper the fox. She learned to sing Happy Birthday and can sing Jesus loves me really well. She can almost do the whole song in sign language too. She loves her Peppy and always wants to go to Peppy's house. Sallie has taught her how to say "Mine" and I want that "first". The things that the second child learn so fast are so funny :) Sallie has really been working on perfecting writing her name and has gotten really good at it. I can read it now which is great. I am sure that I am leaving so much out but for now that is all I can think of.... More to come at the girls birthday time.

Cupcakes

I had to write this post so that I would not forget this sweet side of Sallietoward Anna in the midst of all the arguing that goes on between Sallie and Anna on a daily basis. Sallie is the sweetest big sister ever but she and Anna also have their daily battles over everything in the house that they believe belongs to them. I hear "mine" so many times in a day that it is crazy and many nights Anna has woken up screaming mine really loud in the middle of the night. This is either a nightmare or she really feels like someone is taking something from her. Poor thing gets everything taken from her all the time so she has nightmares about it. Anyway, back to the sweet big sister thing. Sallie truly does have good intentions and loves her sister.....I told Sallie that she and I were going to have a play date this afternoon and that were were going to have dinner together at a restaurant and leave Anna with Daddy and then I was going to take her to the cupcake store and she could pick out any cupcake that she wanted. She made sure that I was being serious and then made sure that we had someone to keep Anna and that Daddy was going to be home. I told her yes that Anna was not going to go this time and that it was just going to be just the two of us. After many more questions about the day, she asked me if we could make a cupcake at home before we left for Anna to have so that Anna would get a cupcake just like hers. Wow, I had not even thought about that. Now there may have been a ulterior motive however I like to believe that Sallie has a heart of gold and loves her little sister :)

Beach Week 2010

We got home yesterday from our annual beach week for Memorial Day. We had a great time as usual and the kids had a blast. I was ready to get back to my bed and house but we really had a great time. It was relaxing in the sense that I was not working at all and Ward put his work to rest but it was a lot of work heading in and out to the beach, lathering up with sunscreen, and just being a little off schedule. Not complaining at all though....It was much needed family time!!Sallie did all that she was wanted to do and more and was totally spoiled the entire week. We are paying for that now but we will get back in the swing of things Monday. We went to play putt putt, went out to the beach, went on boat rides, and did lots of eating out at restaurants. Anna was not so sure of the water until the last day when she warmed up a little. She is still not the biggest fan. Sallie has always been a fish so it is a little weird that Anna is so timid of the water. We loved taking golf cart rides and did some bike riding as well. When I said that we did it all, we did..even some outlet shopping. We are already looking forward to our July 4th week. Sallie was so comfortable in the water that she literally was swimming with the jellyfish. There were so many of them this year and we could see them all around us. We would see them and I would run out of the water and she would try and go find them. I tried to make her a little scared of them since they do sting and it does really hurt. Anna was scared of the shells that touched her feet !! Black and white, they are they are! Ward caught a huge fish the last day that we were there and the girls thought that was wonderful until they saw all the blood that came with cleaning it. We have enjoyed eating it. It made for some good dinner last night and tommrow night. We even got some cute beach pics after some bribery...Will attach.

Sallie's 1st Ballet Recital

Sallie had her first ballet recital today and it was so cute. She did a great job in her first big performance on stage. There were about 10-12 little three to five year olds that were chimney sweeps and danced to chim chimney. She loved her costume and especially loved getting to wear lipstick and eye shadow. Peppy and Pops came to see her perform and she spotted us in the crowd and gave us a big wave. We got a precious video of her dancing and waving and some good pictures too.

Sallie and Anna had their last day of preschool Friday before the summer program starts. It was kind of sad. They have both had great teachers this year and we are sad to see the school year end but looking forward to a wonderful summer with some fun activities. I can not believe that Sallie will be in the 4's next year and Anna in the 2's class at school. Wow, how my little girls are getting bigger :(

Mother's Day 2010

What a wonderful Mother's Day that I had this year. It started off on Friday with a Mother's Day tea that Sallie's class hosted for the Mothers. We got invitations for it and arrived at 9:00 am Friday morning. Sallie was waiting for me at the door with a corsage and escorted me to my seat. She then sang two songs and the class did a dance for us. We had tea and muffins with them at their table which was really fun. It was a great morning. Sallie said that I was 60 years old and my job was to do work at Fort Jackson. She said that she loves to snuggle with me. She made me a really pretty card that had her hand prints on it. Anna made me a bookmark for my bible that I love and still have the same one that Sallie made me when she was Anna's age. Ward spoiled me on Sunday and let me "take the day off". I got to spend Fri night with my Mom, sister, and Grandmother in Greenville for a night away which was so much fun. It has been a great weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day. I could not ask for anymore and am so blessed beyond words. My girls make me so proud and I am lucky to be their Mama. My Mom is awesome and I could not be any luckier. I love raising my girls and sharing it all with her. Thanks Mama for all that you do and all that you have done for me. I love you!!!

We went Strawberry picking last week and it was fun. It was so hot. I think that I did most of the picking but Sallie got a couple and Anna got one or two. Anna was not really into it. I had never been before so it was fun to me and I will go back.

I can not believe that we are already into the month of May. Time is really flying by. Before I know it I will be planning Sallie's 4th birthday and Anna's 2nd. This really makes me sad. I feel like Anna really is a little girl now and there is no baby left. She is communicating so well now and will repeat anything. I do not think that there is any trouble for her in the communication area. She will let you know that she does not want to do something by saying "no way". I wonder where she picked that up from? When I go to brush her hair after bath, I just pull the brush out of the drawer and she starts screaming "ouch". She copies everything that Sallie does and says . It is too funny... We are getting ready for our beach trip for Memorial day for the whole week. I am really excited and looking forward to a week off. I am hoping that the summer does not fly by before I know it and that we can relax some and enjoy it to the fullest. I am starting a new work schedule of only 20 hours a week hopefully in the next week or two so that should help some. I really want this to help me balance my time better.

The weekend and more

Sallie sang in church this morning at Eastminster Presbyterian Church where she attends the day school. The three and four year olds from the day school attended the early service and sang 4 songs in their worship service. It was so cute and Sallie did great. She sang loud and did all her hand motions. I was so proud of her. The sermon was focused on the children in the church and making sure that parents are fully equipped with what they need to teach the children. It was very good. The preacher told stories of the children in chapel on Wednesdays and what the kids from the day school do while they are there. He talked about how each class gets up and says their bible verses that they are working on for the month. They then close the service with a song. He said that on his first time doing chapel with the kids, he expected total chaos but it was so orderly. He went to say the Lords Prayer and heard little 3 and 4 year old voices reciting it with him. It was so cute and made me so proud of where Sallie and Anna attend school. We are truly so lucky to have such a wonderful school for them to go to. We planted a garden this weekend in the back yard and will hopefully have some yummy home grown veggies to eat around mid summer. Sallie has asked me on many occasions already where the vegetables are. She does not understand why they have not already grown. Anna slept until 10 am Saturday morning and I wanted to record this somewhere because this is truly a record. I really was worried and must have gone in her room 3 or 4 times. I had to wake her up at 10 am. She would have slept even longer. She went to bed a little later Fri night but not that late. It was probably 8:30. She is going to be my sleeper for sure. It was a rocky start with her sleeping but now she goes to bed at 7 and wakes at 8 or 8;30 am. I could not ask for more! Sallie on the other hand goes to bed finally at like 9 and wakes up at like 6:30 or 7. She does still take that nap though that I do love. When we tucked Anna into bed last night she goes straight for the corner of her crib and gets up on her knees with her knees tucked under her and her bottom in the air. She looks up as you leave the room and says "night night, lobe you". It is so sweet!! That is her new cute little saying. She is absolutely precious right now and I really could eat her up. She is talking up a storm and has gotten really good at talking on the phone. She makes me really question what I say on the phone now because she is like a parrot and will get on a pretend phone and say "yea, yea". I must say "yea" alot. She is also always talking to Peppy. Peppy must talk on the phone a lot too. Sallie always says "all right" and Anna now says "okay". These must be two words that are used a lot in our house. Anyway, between Anna and Sallie, they are keeping us on our toes and full of laughter.

Way over due

I know that a post is way over due so I am not sure where to start: The weather has started to get warmer and we are looking so forward to the summer. Sallie keeps saying that she loves the Fall but I am not sure she really means that. If so, I am not sure who she gets that from. Anna is a true little girl now. There is no trying to believe that she is still a baby. She is talking a lot saying Mama, Daddy, Sallie, Jack, milk, juice, all her friends names in her class, Peppy, Pops, Gracie, and the list goes on and on. She goes to bed at night like a dream now which is great and she sleeps until 8 or 8:30 in the morning. She is a great sleeper. Sallie on the other hand stays awake playing in her bed until like 9 pm and then is in our bed at like 5 am. She will go back to sleep until 7 but only in our bed. I know that this is a problem but not something that I am stressing about now. I do kind of enjoy snuggling in the am with her. She is a good snuggler. I do not let her in our bed anytime before 5. We had our first Easter egg hunt of the year yesterday at church. It was a lot of fun and Anna even really got into it. They found lots of eggs. Anna got a award from school last week for following directions all day. She got a coupon for a free ice cream cone at chick fil A so I was so excited. I wish she would do this at home :) Sallie and Anna have been playing together a lot lately and really having fun. Trust me, they still fight like sisters but have gotten much better with playing together and sharing. Sallie has her moments with Anna but overall is truly a sweet big sister and loves Anna. They love to play babies and push their strollers around the house. Anna does whatever Sallie says. The first thing that Anna says when i get her out of bed in the am is Sallie? She loves her big sister. I told Anna that it was lunch time yesterday and to go sit down. I did not think anything about this as I was just used to telling Sallie that. Anna is still in a high chair and can not get in her seat by herself. I walked into the kitchen and she had climbed up into her high chair all by herself. She looked really proud. It was really funny!!! We went to our first Carolina Baseball game last weekend. It was fun and the kids really enjoyed it. We parked at the Collesium and took the shuttle over to the stadium. this was Sallie's favorite part of the game. She told me later that night that she had a good time but next time she wanted to go to the Satchel Ford game which is the elemetary school up the street from us. I thought that was funny since that is on such a different level and it is free. This is about all for now.