Peekaboo and Baby Coo's

So behind....

2012-01-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

I am so behind in my blogging and will attempt to catch up but no pictures for now. Our home computer got a really bad virus and we had to switch all our pics over to another computer and have not switched them back or downloaded any new pics from Christmas. I think that my last post was in Sept so let me try and think about what all has gone on since then.....Oct was the annual Wooly Worm festival which was so much fun. It was really windy this year which did make it a little harder to enjoy but we still had a good time. My parents went with us this year and it was great to spend some overnight time with them and the girls really enjoyed having them there too. We got to bring our worms home and they hung around for about 5 days before we let them go and find a new home in our backyard.

We found out in October that we are expecting another baby which is still so exciting and unbelievable! I feel great which I am so thankful for and have never experienced. I was so sick with both Anna and Sallie and I have not been sick at all this time. I never really got to enjoy being pregnant before because I was so sick and so sleep deprived because I could not sleep either. This time I have really enjoyed it. November was full of Thanksgiving plans and family time. Ward and I took a trip to Charlotte for a weekend in November to celebrate our 6th Anniversary and had a great time. My parents kept the kids and it was so nice to get away. We told our families that we were expecting a third baby the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and everyone was so excited. The kids were really excited and Sallie is still going up to people and telling them that I am pregnant and she is going to have a baby:) Too Cute!!! What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving.....

We had a great Christmas. The girls really enjoyed all that we did to get ready for Christmas. We did operation Christmas Child at our church which was a lot of fun. We got to buy gifts, pack boxes, make pictures and write letters to include in the boxes and then got to track the boxes that we sent. It was really neat. We went to the First Baptist Church Christmas program that we always enjoys and saw some of our precious little friends in it this year. We went to Saluda Shoals park to see the lights which were great. We really enjoyed them!!! We saw Santa Claus on more than one occasion. Anna actually packaged up her passy and gave it to Santa this year. Santa thought it was a little odd but oh well, he took it. He then asked Anna what she wanted for Christmas and she told him that she wanted a snake. He really thought we were odd after that. It was pretty funny. We took Anna to Learning express and let her pick out any toy that she wanted for giving Santa her passy. She picked out a $4.00 rubber snake. Priceless......Giving up her passy was a little rough for a night or two but she has been fine since and has not looked back or questioned it once. Sallie was in a little Christmas program at church and then another one at school. She was a Shepard and she was the cutest little Shepard I have ever seen. Her line was to say "Where shall I find him" and she said it perfectly.....She really wanted to be a Angel but after we read stories and I told her the importance of the shepards, she was ok with it.

Our elf, Roddy, came back this year which was so fun. The girls both enjoyed him so much and couldn't wait to get out of bed to find him. They wrote letters to him and Sallie left him candy two nights. We celebrated Christmas in Anderson the weekend before Christmas and stayed in town for Christmas Day which was really nice. We went to Church and then headed to Bishopville Christmas Day to spend the day with family and eat lunch. It was great!!! Both Sallie and Anna were good girls this year and Santa was good to both of them. Sallie loved her "two wheel" scooter which is what she kept telling Santa that she wanted. She also loved her "i touch" that she got (not really a i touch and I am not sure why she started calling it this but we let her go with it). It is really a vtech innotab which we had to take back due to a problem with it and are waiting on another one. Anna got a doll house and a scooter as well. Hers is a three wheel scooter but she still thinks that it is a two wheel scooter and we let her go with that too. She also got a musical vanity. The best gift I got was the news on Dec 20th that our baby is a boy and he is healthy. What a great gift and we are all so excited. I must say I am a little nervous about a boy just because I am clueless when it comes to boys but I know that it will all just come to me and this baby boy will be the best addition to our family. The girls are excited about "baby boy" and Ward is sooooo excited. I think he just knew that this baby was another girl which would have been great news too....The girls will be roommates starting in April and baby boy will take over Anna's room. Pray for a easy transition. They are excited about it now because they are getting bunk beds but I hope that they love sharing a room and can get along. I can not believe that Christmas has come and gone but it truly was a great one!! God has blessed me with so much and I pray that this year I focus on him even more!!!

New Years resolutions......well there are a lot in my head but the most important ones......live each day to the fullest as if it could be my last, enjoy family time and have more of it, do more for others in need, and spend more time with God... That about sums up the last 3 months. I hope to stay more up to date and can't wait to see what 2012 brings us.

No Training wheels....and balllet

2011-09-08T12:07:00.001-07:00

Sallie learned this past weekend how to ride her bike with no training wheels and is now a riding machine. After many falls and lots of banged up knees, she is riding like a champ. I think that she likes riding even better now that the training wheels are gone. Anna has taken over riding Sallie's first bike and has learned how to peddle by herself. She loves it! She has taken several spills as well but seems to bounce back really quick. For some reason she could peddle her tricycle really well but could not do the bike until a week or so ago.

Anna got all dressed for her 1st ballet class Tuesday and got all excited about it. I took her and forgot that it was Tuesday and not Monday when her class is. Labor day really confused me this year. Anyway, she looked so cute, we had to get pics and come home and pretend ballet. She is one cute ballerina. I'm a little partial :)

Anna turns 3

2011-08-15T04:01:00.000-07:00

Five days after the shock of having a 5 year old, I get to do it again and sing Happy Birthday to my baby. Anna, today you are 3 years old and no longer a little baby but a big girl. You know what you want when you want it and you will let everyone know. You have the best contagious laugh I have ever heard and sometimes you just make me laugh like crazy because you are laughing. I miss you when you are at school and miss our two days at home together. You love "Sallie" and when she is not around you are constantly asking where she is. Your favorite show is Dora and you love to eat yogurt and cheese. Your favorite activity is to play with your babies. You will be such a good Mama one day because you are so sweet to your babies even when they have to go to timeout. We are going to have to work on loosing your passy soon but you do love it so much:) You really wanted a care bear for your birthday and we have not gotten it yet so still working on that. Maybe that will be a later gift that you open. You are going to be so excited about your doll house that Daddy worked on for you last night for about 5 hours. It is huge!!! Before I know it you will be turning 5 too so I know that I need to soak all your 3 year old self up and enjoy every second.....We love you so much Anna Banana!!!!!!

The Big 5 and back to school

2011-08-10T03:12:00.000-07:00

Today is the day that Sallie Celess turns the big whole hand 5. I can not believe that it has been 5 years since I brought that little bundle home from the hospital and learned all about what it was to be a "Mama". I remember those first couple of nights home from the hospital waking up every 2 -3 hours for feedings, that went on for what seemed like forever and now that time seems like forever ago..... I am so thankful to have a happy and healthy 5 year old. Not only is she happy and healthy but Sallie Warren, you are the sweetest, spunkiest, funniest, smartest little girl out there (I am a little partial). Your teachers and little friends in your class this year are lucky to have you there and I know that you will have a great year. Happy birthday sweet girl. This mama loves you more than you will ever know. I know that this next 5 years will fly by like the first and will be just as fun. I wish that I could freeze time and continue to enjoy you being 5 but I know that I can't so I am going to strive to enjoy every single day to the fullest (the good and the ugly). I hope that you have a wonderful day today.

We had Sallie and Anna's birthday party at the park last week so today is just a little birthday celebration for Sallie with family. We started the day with a doughnut with a candle in it for breakfast. I made some mini cupcakes for her class to have at snack. Ward is picking her up at lunch to take her to Frankies fun park to ride the go carts. Sallie and I are going to get pedicures this evening and then we are all going to eat at Chick fil a (her choice). You think that she may be rotten by the end of the day? I will keep you posted on that. She is so excited about her big day. She is unwrapping a pink cash register from us and some dress up shoes and a barbie from Anna. We will celebrate Anna's big day on Monday so we will do all this over again minus the Frankies and pedicures. Anna does not care about that and would hate to ride a go cart. All she wants for her birthday ........a carebear. Where do you even find those anymore? Sallie has one so Anna wants one. We are still on the lookout for that so if you have any suggestions on where to get this, let me know. Heres to birthdays!!!!

The girls both started back to school Monday which is earlier than most. Sallie started Kindergarten this year but stayed at Eastminister. She loved her first day and had so much fun. She is really impressed by the smart board that is in her room. She already came home singing a song about money and the order of the coins. Mrs. Mack is her teacher and she is so sweet and I know that she is going to have a incredible year. Anna got Mrs. Rachael for the 3's and will go to school everyday. She enjoyed her first day as well. She is warming up to the idea of going to school everyday. We used to have Tuesdays and Thursdays together at home so it is all new to be going everyday. I am adjusting to this as well:( They both get out at 12 so I do have lots of time in the afternoons to enjoy them. Eastminster has been such a great school and I will be so sad when it is no longer a part of our daily life. I do feel that the girls are loved so much there and have learned so much not only about school stuff, but about God. I know that next year we will have to move on but it will be a sad day:) This year is going to be great.... I must say that I really enjoyed my first summer being at home with the girls and we did lots of fun things.................but am loving being back in school as well. I like a routine and school is a good routine for us. I know that when we start real school, I probably won't look forward to that as much but this 9 -12 school day is great:)

Catching up

2011-07-29T03:58:00.000-07:00

I've gotten really behind on the blog lately and had a couple spare minutes to give a few updates. Summer is in full swing now and almost over:( The kids start back to school August 8th. Sallie will be a big kindergartner this year at Eastminster and Anna will be in the 3's (wiping tears). I really can not believe that my girls are almost 5 and 3. It has been a fun and low key summer. It has flown by like I knew it would. It was my first summer at home with the girls and not working. What a joy it has been to be home with them. I can't say that there have not been days that I would have wanted to be at work however I know that this is time that I won't get back and I want to enjoy every second. The girls have really been so good at home and have learned to play together really well in the mornings with their babies and playing kitchen. Now the afternoons when everyone is tired is another story. We went to the beach for the 4th of July and had a blast. It was so much fun and the girls both loved the ocean. I actually enjoyed it myself. I am usually scared and don't like it but I made myself go in this summer and once I was in, it was ok. I rode some waves and really had fun. We have been to the lake a couple of times as well. We borrowed a float that Ward pulled behind the boat with Sallie and I on and it was so much fun. Sallie did not want to go at first but when I said that I was going, she was in. We laughed so hard that my stomach hurt the next day. It was so much fun. Not only was my stomach sore but my back was really sore from holding on for dear life. I was so scared that we would flip off and Sallie would never want to do it again. We did not flip off and by the end of the ride, Sallie was holding her thumb up for Ward to go faster. We have used the pool alot and have really enjoyed that this summer too. Sallie is swimming like a fish and Anna can hold her own in the water too. Sallie recently started jumping off the diving board like a champ and swimming to the side on her own. She got so brave that she has been jumping and twisting in the air. This is a great activity to wear them both out including myself!

The girls are having their birthday party today at the park I just watched the weather and they said 100 degrees by 12. Oh well it may be a short one. They are having a little princess party together at Heathwood park. This may be the last year to do a party together and get away with it. It was pretty easy this year because Anna is so agreeable. She keeps checking to make sure that she will get to blow out her own candles. I did make them small individual cakes to blow out on their own. Sallie really wanted to paint nails at her party and Anna wanted a pinata so we have both those requests filled. They are really excited and I must admit I am excited too. I could not sleep last night. I love to see them have fun:) I will post some pictures after the party!!

A "funny"

2011-05-29T16:51:00.001-07:00

Sometimes things that Sallie says are so cute and funny that I don't want to forget them. Sometimes I try to mentally remember them but sometimes they make me laugh so much that I must actually type them and put them on my blog to go back to one day. This particular "funny" was really funnier in person but still one for the books. We were eating dinner outside and Ward was not feeling so good so he was laying on the couch. Sallie said "I hope Daddy feels better because I love him all the way to Disney World and back. I said "that is really sweet Sallie, I am sure he is better now." Sallie said "I love you all the way to Bethlehem and back." Anna was sitting there looking at me like she was thinking, what about me? Anyway, I said "Sallie, what about Anna?" She looked at me and said, "well, I love her to the park". It was so funny! Again, much funnier in person but want to keep some of these things fresh to refer back to. I will blog about our annual beach trip this week. We got back Saturday and had a blast as usual. It was wonderful to get away and relax with the family.

Anna's 1st trip to the dentist

2011-05-19T02:47:00.001-07:00

Anna had her first dentist appointment yesterday and did great. Sallie was always great at the dentist so I really was not worried. She loved it and especially loved her bag that she got with the toothbrush, toothpaste and little flossers. I wish I could sit in the dentist chair like this with a smile on my face. She does not come by this honestly. I really don't like the dentist at all but I guess I do a pretty good job hiding my fears of the dentist:)

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

This Mother's Day was once again a wonderful day. Sallie had the sweetest tea for me at her school where they sang songs about us, said memorized bible verses for us and then shared cookies and tea with us. It was so special. She made me all kinds of sweet goodies but the best of them all was her picture of me and description of me. I was 35 this year which is pretty good considering I was much older last year. I look pretty when I am going to work. I love to play with her and she loves me because she likes me. Oh, and my favorite food is salad. I almost left that off. Anyway, it was really cute and her picture of me was so cute. I had purple earrings in and a matching madras like top. I will have to get a picture of this and post it. I had a free day to myself on Saturday which was so nice and Sunday we all enjoyed church together, lunch with my Mom and Dad, and then a trip to the lake. Ward let the girls fish and they each caught a little fish that we threw back. The girls loved the worms...YUCK! They held them, played with them, squeezed them, and maybe killed one or two. Anyway, I could not have asked for a better day. I am so lucky to have my girls and my Mother to celebrate with.

Tables turned

2011-04-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

It was so funny yesterday as we were sitting down eating breakfast and Sallie was trying to tell Anna that she needed to eat her fruit first before her waffle and Anna turned to Sallie and said, "Sallie, you worry about yourself". I lost it laughing. It took me by such surprise to hear that come out of Anna's mouth. I say this all the time to Sallie because she is always worrying about everyone except herself. Anna is really staring to pick up on what we are saying and repeating it all. Sallie did not like this comment either but I really think it took her by surprise too. The look on her face was priceless. The tables are turning and I think that all the bossing around from Sallie is about to come to a halt. I think that I might have two tough cookies on my hands.

Sallie started playing soccer last month. She does not love it by any means but is sticking it out to complete the season. She got kicked in the eye in practice and really has not wanted to play since. She is pretty good at it and I have tried to encourage her to continue until the end. She looks pretty cute in her soccer shirt and little soccer shorts. She does love to put on her "skin guards".

We are loving the spring weather.....our annual picture at the tulips at Trenholm road Methodist Church. So sad at how much they have grown since last year :(

Disney World 2011

2011-03-06T04:27:00.000-08:00

We just got back from Disney World for the kids first trip and mine and Ward's second trip. Wow has Disney changed since I went for the first time in the 6th grade.....We had a great trip and the girls loved it. There was so much to do. The trip started out a little rocky with two little girls with the flu. We started tamiflu on Saturday and did not leave until Sunday so they were a little better by the time we left but not fully recovered until Monday. Then on Monday I got the flu and was very sick. I did Epcot in a total fog because I felt so bad. I had to go to a care clinic in Disney on Monday and got tamiflu as well and was better by Tuesday late afternoon. By Tuesday we were ready to have some fun. Some of our favorites were our character dinners with the princesses at Akershurs House in Epcot, Chef Mickey, and Crystal Palace. We loved Peter Pans flight, Its a small World, and the play Beauty and the Beast. I did Space Mountain and it was so scary. I think I am too old for roller coasters. Ward did Tower of Terror and some other scary roller coasters. Sallie was too short for all the bigger rides. She is 39 1/2 inches and you have to be 40 inches tall for a lot of those rides. She did get to ride thunder road with Ward and loved it. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge and the girls got to sleep in bunk beds which may be Sallie's favorite part of the trip. She also loved the swimming pool which she begged to go in everyday. It had a pretty cool water slide that she loved. It was pretty hard to explain that we can swim anytime and Disney was what we were going to do during the day time. Anna did great in Disney. I thought that she would be scared of alot of the characters and shows because she does not like a lot of noise but she loved it all. The car ride was a breeze. We have never traveled further than about 3 1/2 hours in the car with the kids and were a little worried. We drove straight both ways. On the way home we only stopped one time for about 15 minutes. I was so proud of them:) It was a great week of family fun and hopefully happy memories for the girls. We had such a great time. The pictures we took and the smiles tell it all.

Big girl in a big bed

2011-01-09T17:10:00.001-08:00

Anna had her first night in her big girl bed last night and slept great. She went down great and did not get up until I woke her at 8:30. It was really sad watching Ward take the crib down. I tried to explain why I was sad and I guess it is just that the crib has been a part of our house and lives for 4 years now and it is now in the attic in storage. Plus this also means that Anna is now a big girl :( She is pretty darn cute in her big girl bed!!! I will post some pics of her big girl room later. I can not believe that my baby is in a bed but do love that I can now snuggle in her bed with her and read books at night. She is very proud of her big girl bed and is telling everyone that she sees.

Here Comes Santa Claus

2011-01-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas has come and gone and I am late on this post but I thought better late than never. I am so sad this year that Christmas is over. I enjoyed the holidays and lazy days so much. I was ready to get the girls, especially Sallie back in a routine as she does well with structure but I sure did like sleeping in and not rushing to get out of the door everyday. I had almost a full two weeks off of work and loved it so much!! It was also nice having Ward home for some of that time off as well. We did so many fun Christmas activities. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights, baked many batches of cookies, attempted a gingerbread house with about 5 little girls that were more interested in the candy and the house finally collapsed so we just ate the candy instead of completing it. We took part in a Christmas play at church, visited old friends and made dozens of loaves of bread for our neighbors. Our Christmas was busy but it was busy with fun memories. The girls really got into their Elf name Rody, this year and had so much fun searching for him every morning. We did Christmas three different times with three different sides of the family which was fun too. It made Christmas last longer. Anderson, SC was our first stop at Nanas house, we celebrated with my family on Christmas eve with brunch and then again on Christmas day at out annual Bishopville trip. We then celebrated it with Ward's Dad and family on New Years Day. All were so much fun. We went to dinner with the kids and then watched the game with family and neighbors on New Years Eve. It was low key but a lot of fun. 2011 is here and is going to be a great year. I just know it :) Our big surprise for the kids for Christmas was a trip to Disney World in Feb. They were excited but I really think that I am more excited. I can not wait. I went when I was in the 6th grade and don't remember a lot about it. Sallie really has no clue what she is about to see and do but she is still excited. She has heard many friends at school tell stories of their trip. Our New Years Resolution: Well we really did not make any this year but I am going to try to spend more time reading the bible and less time on the computer so better get off here. Happy 2011 everyone!

I am thankful for......

2010-11-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-16T03:57:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-15T06:22:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-08T17:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-19T04:47:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-05T16:50:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

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.

1st snow

2010-02-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Ican not believe it actually snowed in Columbia, SC. We had so much fun in it minus the loss of power for about 2 hours on Friday night. Sallie loved the snow and Anna had no interest in it what so ever. Sallie and I went out Friday night late while the power was off and played, built a snowman and made snow angels. Saturday we went sledding and made snow cream. We enjoyed it while it lasted.

One fish, two fish...

2010-01-23T04:46:00.000-08:00

Got some cute pictures of the girls in the bathtub last night. They were both like two little fish. They were having so much fun that I could not get upset about all the water on the floor. There are just some things that I have to let go and sit back and be thankful for and last night was one of those times. The laughter coming from that bathroom was a reminder of the good times to come with my two little fish!!

The things children say

2010-01-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

OK, so I guess Sallie is now at that age where kids say anything that comes to mind without thinking twice about what she says. Last week we were in Publix grocery shopping minding our own business in our car grocery cart. This lady ahead of us was minding her business shopping and Sallie says in a loud voice "hey Mommy, theres a witch". This caught me so off guard that I did not know what to say. I wanted to laugh, cry, shrink inside my buggy all at once. The lady turned around and looked and kept on strolling. What do you say to that? This lady had black long black hair with streaks of silver running through it. I guess this is what Sallie has envisioned a witch to look like. Then we were at Publix again today and Sallie said "hey Mommy, look there is a pirate." It was a lady with a patch over her right eye. The lady looked at her and smiled thank the Lord. I did not know what to do other than laugh to myself. Sallie kept saying Mommy, why is that pirate here and I was just trying to get the heck out of there. It was so crowded and many people heard her. I am really not sure how to handle those questions other than just telling her to say things like that quietly. Anyway, I know that they all sound funny and if it was another persons child I would think it was hilarious however it is really embarrassing in a crowded grocery store. I thought I had a couple more years for these kind of observations. Obviously I was wrong and maybe we just need to stop going to publix.

Just Funny

2010-01-05T10:28:00.001-08:00

I am not sure why this picture is so funny to me but Anna dressing up cracked me up. Sallie loves to dress up and has lots of dress up clothes now..thanks Whitney she loves them...but Anna wanted to dress up and so I dressed her up and she loved it. She chased Sallie around the house with her wand and thought that it was the best thing ever. I laughed until I cried and she thought that was even funnier. Out little princess #2.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with lots of good family time over the holidays. Monday starts the work week and the end of vacation and although I am looking forward to getting back to the kids schedule and structure I am dreading working. We have really enjoyed sleeping later and visiting family and friends. Everyone was supper excited Christmas morning and there was no mention of the princess piano that Sallie wanted so bad from Santa. She does tell people that she got one from Santa when asked however she never ask where it was Christmas morning and has never asked me anything about it. She loved her princess bike and rides it like she has had one her whole life. She even knows how to brake which I think is incredible. She also loves her princess couch that she got and loves to sit on it and watch her show and has also taken a couple of naps on it as it folds out to a bed. Anna really liked her mega blocks and loves to get in her princess tent with Sallie. She was not a fan of the Rody that we got her so Santa came and picked that back up and took it back to the north pole. She was scared to death of that thing and wanted nothing to do with it. Ward and I gave each other gas fire logs which we will get next week and are so excited about. The best gift of all of course was our time with family that we look so forward to and after all the hustle and bustle of Christmas it is so nice to sit back and enjoy time with the ones that we love. I am so thankful this year for all my family and friends. I am so lucky and blessed beyond words and hope that 2010 is as good as 2009 was!! Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Here Comes Santa Claus

2009-12-24T04:21:00.000-08:00

Only one more day and Santa Claus will be here. We are so excited!! This Christmas has been so much fun since Sallie really seems to understand Santa Claus as well as the birth of Jesus. She has been singing Happy Birthday to Jesus nonstop. I had to call Santa yesterday when Sallie was being ugly to Anna and tell Santa about this. It really did not seem to impact her at all so we are going to have to work on that. We have been to see Santa Claus two times and got a cute picture that I will post. Anna was not having it and did not like Santa at all. She had to death grip on me both times. Sallie's only request for Christmas is a Disney princess keyboard vanity. This is all that she talks about all the time. I have tried to put so many other gift ideas in her head and she is not having it. Unfortunately Santa has tried really hard to bring her this toy however this toy is sold out everywhere in the country. This toy is such a hot item that people are selling this $89 toy on ebay and amazon for $269 and we were just not going to do that. We did this computer Santa chat with Sallie and Santa and we typed in Sallie's name and a picture of her and Santa talked to her via the computer. We put in a gift that she wanted and Santa read off a list to Sallie and said "so I hear that you want a princess bike". Sallie was talking to the computer saying"no Santa, I wanted a princess piano". It broke my heart because it is just not going to happen. Oh well, hopefully she will forget about it. If not, we will have a backup letter from Santa saying that he will bring it and deliver it another day. We are looking so forward to tomorrow morning and the excitement of Christmas. We have been going, going, going nonstop since last week so I am sure that we will all crash after Christmas is over. I can not believe that it is finally here!! Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

It is beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

2009-11-29T18:18:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of food and family and enjoyed every second of it. We started off the festivities with Thursday lunch at my parents house and then Friday diner with Ward's family at our house. My sister and I did black Friday shopping Fri at 5 am and had a blast. I also got a lot of shopping done for the kids. We got our first real tree this year and set it up today and got it decorated tonight. It smells heavenly!! I had a real trees My entire life and then started using a fake tree about 6 or 7 years ago. We decided that when the kids were old enough to get it, we would go and get a real tree. Well, this was the year so we all packed up and went to the Christmas tree store. We looked around the lot and found the perfect trees for our house. Sallie was enthralled with the Santa Claus that was dancing around the lot. Anna just wanted to go and touch all the trees. We had a fun day of Christmas music and decorating the tree planned that was fun for about the first 5 ornaments. Then things starting falling and ornaments starting breaking and that was the end of that. We did get the tree decorated however with little assistance from the girls. Anna has since pulled many off that are low to the ground. We got the blow up in the front yard and I love it. Ward actually even admitted that it looked pretty cool. Maybe adding to the blow up collection next year is more in my future than I thought. Anyway, Sallie is really anxious about Santa Claus this year and not scared at all. She can not wait to sit in his lap and tell him that she wants a princess bike now and a jumpy castle. She said the one like they have at leapin lizards. Wow!!! I tried to explain to her that Santa knows what will and will not fit in our house so he may not be able to get that from the north pole. We will see how that goes over Christmas morning. We brought out the elf on the shelf this weekend as well and named him "Roddie". Not sure where this name came from but this is what Sallie wanted to call him. Anna has finally started saying Mama in the last day or two. Now we really know what she wants as she was saying Daddy for everything. She went into the church nursery today without crying at all and even hugged one of the nursery workers that she usually screams with. That was a huge success and relief to me. I always hate leaving her because she acts like that and it was so nice today to leave her happy. We are so excited about the upcoming weeks and all the fun Christmas things going on.

Finally walking

2009-11-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I am a little behind on my posts but with good reason. Ward's computer crashed and then mine crashed shortly behind it. Lots of computer problems in the Warren household. We have also been really busy lately and I just have not had the time. But I do have lots to tell so I am going to try and remember all that has taken place since last entry. Well, Halloween of course....We had a wonderful Halloween with lots of celebrations before and one after the occasion that kept us busy. We did trunk or treat again this year in Lexington and it was lots of fun. Sallie was a "fairly princess" and Anna was a ladybug. For everyone that has now seen the ladybug three years in a row, it has officially been put away for good. Sallie loved her costume and we kind of just called it a fairy princess. It was really called a Garden fairy from k-mart for $7 but she loved it and was a fairy princess. How dare you just call her a princess. They were both adorable and had a great time. At their school Anna dressed up like a dalmatian and all the kids had a dalmatian parade around the school. Sallie's class wore their costumes and trick or treated outside around the school. Parents dressed up and gave them candy. I was a good sport this year and dressed up like a butterfly. Sallie was so proud and told all her friends as they came around that the butterfly was her Mom. It was really cute but my camera died right before she came around to my spot so I did not get pics with my camera. Sallie ate way to much candy on Friday night before Halloween and threw up at 2 am that next morning. She went back to school on Monday and the first thing that she told her teacher was that she ate too much junk and threw it all up. It was pretty funny. I guess a good lesson was learned by all. Ward and I had gone out the night before and had a couple of drinks so a wake up call at 2 am to clean up throw up everywhere was the last thing that we wanted to do. Anyway, Anna finally decided to start walking last week. She is in full swing and all over the place. She loves it and I really love it too. I felt like Anna was attached to my hip all the time and now I can put her down and let her go!!! Don't get me wrong she does still like to be held but she also loves to run and play with Sallie. We are getting in the Thanksgiving mode and looking forward to some time off with family. Sallie has been learning about the Indians at school and we had to make up Indian names for the family so that she could take it to school and talk about it. I am River, Anna is Arrowhead, Ward is Chief and Sallie is Squanto. They made picture books that she brought home to read to us. She opened the first page and said "this is King James, and he was a very mean person that wanted everyone to come to his church and he took their money. Then the next page was some pilgrims that got on the mayflower and came to America. The story went on and on and I was in awe the entire time. I could not believe what all she had learned.

It won't be long before I get to pull out all my Christmas decorations and I am really looking forward to that this year. I think that Ward forgot but I bought a blow up Santa Claus last year and I am so looking forward to putting it front and center. The kids will love it. I bought it at the end of the season last year and just put it up so I can not wait to add to my blow up collection. I really want the carousel :)

We had some friends over this past weekend to watch the game and spend the night. We had so much fun!! Sallie had lots of fun with Sienna and Piper and Anna was trying to keep up with McRea. Sweet Boone hardly made a peep but I am sure that it won't be long before he is running to keep up with all the girls. It is always fun to be able to all get together and hang out. Thanks everyone for coming over and making it so much fun!! A blimp flew over the house while the game was going on and the kids and adults thought it was so neat....

Happy Early Birthday to my Dad who turns 62 tomorrow. I love you and hope you have a wonderful day and many many many more!

Wooly Worm 2009

2009-10-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well we did it! The first Annual Wooly Worm 2009. It was so much fun and we plan on making this a annual event. We did have a blast on the trip but I will say that it was not a easy trip at all. I think that next year the ages of the girls will make it a little easier. We stayed in a comfortable little house right outside of Linville. 49 Larch lane was a cozy little place and we will definitely stay there again. We were really close to my sister's in laws house where they stayed so it was nice to be able to hang out there with them and do dinner together Saturday night. My Mom made the trip with us and stayed at my sister's house. My Dad was not able to make it this year but hopefully will come next year. We have such special memories of the mountains and saw some of the places that we used to go as kids while we were there. The road trip there on Friday was one of those trips that I do not want to remember. We started out at about 2:00. Ward had late cases so he had to drive separately. My Mom, the kids and I drove together. The kids slept for all of about 30 minutes of the trip and from then on it was wide open. Anna fussed close to the the entire 3 1/2 hour trip until we stopped at a gas station and had to turn her seat around so she could watch a movie. Sallie just wanted something the entire way. Finally about 30 minutes away from our little cozy house, we got lost and could not find the place to pick up the key. We tried to call and call with no answer and then no cell service. Sallie is screaming in the back seat that she has to poo poo. I am telling her to quit screaming and we will be there soon. She finally starts sobbing saying her tummy hurts and that she has to go poo poo. We have to pull over on the side of the mountain and let her squat in the freezing cold. She was having issues and had to squat for about 30 minutes. We then had to put a diaper on her for the rest of the way as she was not sure she was finished. About 15 more minutes and she is crying again saying that her tummy hurts. She then pukes in a bag of grapes. I am driving so my poor Mom gets to handle this one. Finally we find our way after much help and arrive at larch lane about 7:30. It was a long day and I have never felt more anxious like my head was going to pop off in my life. Anyway, we went to the Wooly Worm Saturday and had a blast even though it was very cold, wet and muddy. We then ate at the best Barbecue restaurant ever. After touring around Blowing Rock, we ended the day with Pizza and watching the USC game. We woke up Sunday morning to snow which was so beautiful. We made snow cream for Sallie using coffee because this was all we had. She did not know the difference. We went on a short hike and then headed down the mountain toward Columbia. Oh I almost forgot the best part ever. We went to the Candy Barrel and got our candy. And as Sallie will tell you, this was the best part of her first mountain trip. Go figure, something we could do here!! Anyway, she got candy for everyone including plenty for herself and ate it all on the way home falling asleep with a sucker in her mouth. A great time was had by all!!! Thank you Jennifer and Scot for hosting us at the Wooly Worm and to Mama for all your help. You were a trooper after getting thrown up on, almost pooped on, and falling in the mud.

Who gets the red plate today?

2009-10-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we tried to start the red plate tradition in our house about two weeks ago and it just has not happened. With all the work on our kitchen we have had to eat out so much but Sallie was supposed to eat off the red plate for giving up her passy. Sallie finally got to eat off the red plate yesterday for lunch for giving up her passy and for getting a really good report from her teacher. We had parent teacher conferences on Thursday and her teacher said really good things. Sallie really enjoyed eating off her red plate. Ward gets to eat off it on Monday night for getting new business Friday. I wonder when I will get to eat off that plate? I guess Anna will get to eat off of it when she decides to walk. We may be waiting a while for Anna's turn.

I had a conference with Sallie's teacher Thursday. After missing my original appointment on Tuesday which I felt awful for, it was so refreshing hearing from the teacher that Sallie is on target with everything. Her teacher, Mrs Vickie, said that a day without Sallie in the classroom is very dull and she really misses Sallie when Sallie is not there. She said that Sallie is a joy to have. She also said that Sallie is very head strong and independent (wonder where she gets that from?) Sallie loves to be the line leader and especially the door holder. Sallie can recite two bible verses now which is wonderful. she is keeping me on my toes when it comes to this as well. She said that Sallie's biggest obstacle is sitting still in circle time and they are trying to work on following directions. These are the same things that we are working on at home as well. So far she is having a great year!

I forgot to post pictures when we went to see Sesame Street live a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time however it was a little lenghty. Sallie ended up falling asleep toward the end. I think that she was more excited about the little treats that I packed in her pocketbook rather than the show. Oh well, we had fun anyway and it was nice one on one time with Sallie. Anna stayed at home with Ward.

We are going to the mountains next weekend to go to our first Willy Worm festival. Not sure what this is exactly but my sister has been and says that it is so much fun. Will blog about this when I return. They have real wolly worm races. Sallie is going to love this. I can not wait!! We used to take mountain trips annually with my family growing up and I always looked forward to it. We would go to this place called the candy barrel and it was a store with barrels and barrels of candy. We got to each get our very own bag. I love that place and plan on taking Sallie and myself there the first day. It is still there and I am excited :) I took the kids to the Governors Mansion on Thursday to get some pictures. I did not get many good ones but got a couple of framers. It is really hard to get both to look at the same time.

Here you go Nemo

2009-10-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

Sallie finally gave up her passy last weekend. We went down to Charleston for the night so Ward could go shrimping with some friends. While we were there, Sallie was attached to her passy all day. It was like she could not let it go since we were around the house for most of the day. I kept taking it from her and telling her that if she wanted her passy she would have to go to bed. She would say ok, and go lay in bed. That was not the response I was looking for. Anyway, Sunday morning I told her that Nemo was swimming in the water and really wanted a passy just like hers. She went out to the dock with Ward and threw her passy overboard. She has talked about it 2 times since and tried to use Anna's one time and that was the end of that. If I had known it would be so easy we would have tried that a month ago. Anyway, my goal was to be rid of it by 3 and we were close enough. She got a really cool Ariel doll that goes in the bath tub for giving up her passy. She has really liked her Ariel and telling her story of giving her passy to Nemo. Way to go Sallie!!

We just had our kitchen gutted and re done. Our house has been a mess and this has driven me crazy this past week. I will be so glad to be done with this and the job be completed by Monday. It looks great so far and can not wait to see the finished project.

Both girls have had a pretty yucky cold this past week. Anna especially has been coughing a lot. I almost took her to the doctor Friday but they said to wait it out due to all the children that are much more sick with the flu. We are going to get our flu shots Tuesday so hopefully we can avoid it and then we will see when we can go back and get the swine flu shot. We have a very busy October with Birthday parties, trips planned, and work. I can not believe that Christmas is right around the corner. I look forward to the upcoming weeks of fun and pray that we stay healthy.

Fall is here and we are enjoying it. We have been able to open windows and doors at night and that has been great. All the pumpkin flavors are out and I have already tested out the pumpkin ice cream at Baskin Robbins and the pumpkin coffee drinks at Starbucks. I am a sucker for pumpkin.

I walked in the First ladies walk for breast cancer today. It was a great walk and there were so many walkers. This was my third time walking this walk and I really enjoyed it.

My nephew Sam turned 6 yesterday and we went to his Scooby Doo birthday party last night. I did not get a single picture but I will post some when my Sis sends them to me. I can not believe that Sam is 6. Seems like just yesterday I was carrying him around Columbia babysitting thinking how cool it was to have a nephew (it still is cool to have a nephew). He loved him some Aunt JuJu! Happy Birthday Sam. I love you so much and can not believe what a big boy you are.

the trash collector

2009-09-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you can officially call me the trash collector. Look at my new find on someone else's trash pile. This is just what Sallie has been wanting and we had been looking at these for her birthday that just passed. Guess we do not have to look any further....

Nana's 60th Birthday weekend

2009-09-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

We went to Anderson this weekend to celebrate Nana's 60th birthday and had lots of fun. We went to the Upper state fair in Greenville on Sunday before leaving. It was some good people watching...and Sallie enjoyed the rides and the petting zoo and I almost forgot about Pickles the clown! I felt like I needed a really good shower when I left. It was really nice to get away and enjoy time with Nana, Ward's brothers and their families. Anna got tubes in her ears on Thursday before we left and so far so good. We really hope that this will help with all her ear infections as she has had 5 in the course of her short little 12 month life. Sallie's tubes worked wonders so we are praying for the same thing for Anna. We got to stop through Easley on the way back to Columbia to visit with Grammy, Ward's grandmother who is in a nursing home with Alzheimers. Grammy looks great and seems to still know who we are. She smiled as soon as we walked in the door and really enjoyed watching Anna play with her wheelchair. Anna was named after Grammy, whose name is Ann, as well as my Mom who is Peggy Ann. Grammy has only met Anna two times so we try to get her by there as often as possible. Anna got her first pair of walking shoes while we were in Anderson. Nana likes to get the girls their first pair of shoes at the same store that she got Ward and his brother's first pair of shoes. They are precious and she has really been getting around well in them. She gets frustrated at times but I give it about another week before she is taking off. She wears a size 3 1/2. We've enjoyed a little break since Sunday as Sallie stayed in Anderson until tomorrow with Nana. The house has been really quiet and I really miss her. It has been a nice break but two nights is all I can do right now. I miss her laugh and her little sweet voice already! I am attaching many pictures from our weekend as well as from Anna trying to figure out this walking stuff. It was a great weekend had by all. Happy 60th Mary Carter aka"Nana".

Happy 1st birthday Sweet Anna

2009-08-15T18:45:00.001-07:00

Seems like a lot of happy birthday posts lately doesn't it? Well with two August birthdays 5 days apart, that is what we do in August. I have had a lot of fun planning and doing, but am really glad that we have another year before doing it again. Happy 1st Birthday Anna! Today was all your day and you had a blast. Your ice cream party was so much fun. You especially loved your cake. You ate and ate and ate and loved every bite. You got icing all in your hair and we had to give you a bath because you were a mess. Anna, I honestly can not believe that you are 1. How did this day get here so fast. This day a year ago, we were at baptist hospital loving on you and your little 6 pound 15 ounce self. You personality is still in the works but what I can see, at one, it is going to be so much fun. You love your sister and you love Jack. You do not like loud noises and you really don't like to be put down. You like to be held most of the time and you really like for me to be in the room at all times. You have not mastered playing on your own yet but I guess that will come with time. At walmart or the grocery store you do not want to ride in the cart but you want me to hold you and push the cart. Even though this is kind of hard, I do love that you want your Mama. You laugh a lot and are really close to learning to walk. I think about a week or two and you will be all over the house. You will eat anything and you understand everything I say. When I say "Do you want a bottle?", you start to fuss and point toward the kitchen. When I say "Are you ready for bed, you start to fuss and I know that this means yes. You love to play on my bed and "roughhouse" as Sallie calls it. Your sister refers to you as Anna Banana and even told your sister that this is her name. I am sure that you will not like this name later on in life but for now it is kind of cute. You are a true joy Anna. Your first year of life has been filled with little sleep, laughter, learning, juggling, and lots of smiles. I can not wait to see your little personality continue to develop. Youaare a true blessing to me and your Daddy as well as your sister and I am so honored and lucky to be your Mama!! Happy Birthday baby girl......

A recap of our busy birthday

2009-08-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

Wow! Today was a really busy and fun day. Sallie has literally celebrated her birthday from the time that her feet hit the floor this morning until tonight at 9 pm. She has milked this day for all it is worth. Here are some pictures to show you what she has done. We started with gift opening, then went to her first day at school, then came home and ate the last cupcake from school for lunch. this is cupcake #2 for the day. Woke up from nap and went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream with Peppy and Pops, answered lots of birthday phone calls in between, had a watermelon birthday celebration with Daddy with sparklers, played with Ella and got to open presents from Peppy, Pops and Ella and Sam, hopped on my bouncy ball all day long, and finally went to bed with no supper and a belly full of junk. Now how could anyone ask for a better day? She is now asleep with a new watch on and a bouncy ball on the edge of her bed waiting for her in the morning.

Look at me, I am 3

2009-08-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Sallie is officially three. It is late on her birthday night and I was just thinking back to that day three years ago when Sallie was born. It was about 5:20 pm and our lives changed (for the better) and Sallie Celess Warren was born. I can not believe that she is three tomorrow. I know that we always say this every year for whatever age she turns however 3 just sounds so grown and not my baby anymore. Sallie, you can do so much at three that I am seriously in awe everyday. Your vocabulary has blossomed and continues to blossom daily. You are saying things that I really have no idea where they came from. You were watching Anna eat yesterday and said "slow down tiger". Not sure where this came from but you make me laugh outloud daily. You threw Jack some bread on the floor last night and said "there it is ding dong". I know that this is not nice but I could not control my laughter. I am sure that you heard someone say this (may have been me, sorry Jack). You are a sponge. You have really gotten into facial expressions lately and ask me a lot "Mama, why do you have those lines on your face". You are referring to a look on my face where my forehead and in between my eyebrows are squinched up. I may be thinking or worried ect... however half the time not even realizing that I am making this face. You are really into telling me about things that you did "last week" or last year". You love to say "when I was a baby....I.....". You also love to talk about "when I am a mommy, I can drink diet coke, or chew gum, or ect". You love your sister and when I am not right there, I catch you being sweet to her and giving her all kinds of love. When I am around and giving her attention, you like to do otherwise. You can go potty by yourself, dress yourself put on your shoes, brush your teeth, and you are such a good helper with Jack. You love to let him outside in the mornings and feed him in the afternoon. You love your Daddy and love to help him work on special projects. You love your friends, school, and your grandparents. You love to come in our room in the mornings and climb in bed for a little snuggle time (which I love). You always offer up kisses just because. You are a passy lover and you love your tv time. You are the most brave and mischievous child I have ever known. The mischievous side gets you in trouble. I have to remove myself many times to laugh at the things that you get into. You think of everything and nothing gets past you. I always find my stool in the most odd places where you have seen something that you need a little height to get to. You are the happiest, cutest, sweetest little girl and we are so proud of you. Happy 3rd Birthday Sallie. I am the luckiest Mama ever and can not imagine my life without you.

Birthday parties and more..

2009-08-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Sallie's 3rd birthday a little early this year. We had a Thursday night party at leapin Lizards on July 30th. She turns 3 on August 10th. We had a joint party with Sallie's cousin, Ella and it worked out great. They have a lot of mutual friends due to being in the same class at school last year. Sallie loves Leapin Lizards and the party was a hit. She played her heart out. We brought presents home to open and let her stay up late to open her gifts. We will do a little candle in her muffin for breakfast on her real birthday as it is on a Monday which is also her first day of her new class at school so it will be really busy. She got all kinds of fun birthday gifts. We did not let her open gifts from us yet as she will get to open those on her real birthday as well.

The summer is flying by. We got out teacher assignments for Sallie and Anna's new classes starting on August 10th. Sallie's new teacher is Mrs. Vickie and Anna's new teacher is Mrs. Stepahine. We can not wait to get to know them. Sallie had Mrs. Stephanie so I am familiar with her classroom however do not know anything about Sallie's new teacher. We are excited about school starting but nervous about the adjustments that we will make with new teachers and new classrooms. Can you believe that Anna will be sitting at a big girl table and not in a high chair at school. She will also be taking a nap on a cot....I must get pictures of this. I know that Sallie adjusted just fine and she will too. We are going to try and make one last beach trip before the school year starts back up. We have all next week off so it will be nice to spend lots of time doing fun summer things before we go back to school.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

2009-07-25T11:31:00.001-07:00

Ok so this post is a little late but we celebrated Ward's birthday July 19th in Charleston. Happy Birthday Ward!!! Just the two of us and no kids. It was really nice to get away and be kidfree for the entire weekend. We went out to eat, shopped a lot and went out on the boat. My parents kept the girls at our house and they had a great time. It was nice to get away but I missed them and was glad to get back home on Sunday. Of course by Sunday night I was ready to go again. Just kidding!! Right before we got home, Sallie fell over a pair of shoes and into a plastic toy that we have and she busted her lip. We ended up taking her to the ER to make sure that she did not need stitches. After about 2 hours and who knows how much money, they let us come home stitch free. I was very relived that she did not need stitches and surprised at how quickly her lip has healed. I must brag on her though because she was so brave the entire time. I could not believe it. While driving to the ER she said that she was going to let the Dr stitch up her lip. She let the doctor look at her lip, take her temp, and weigh her with no problems at all. She was talking the entire time and did not even come close to tears. I was so proud of her. She really has NO FEAR. I think that I was more afraid than she was. Anyway, after many surprises for being so brave, we came home and all is well. I tried to get a close up of her lip but did not get a really good one. I will post it along with a picture of Ward blowing out his candles on his homemade ice cream cookie sandwich. Mind you, this picture was taken after the emergency room Sunday night so we were all a little tired and Anna is not in the picture because I had already put her to bed.

Someones trash, another persons treasure

2009-07-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

We went on a walk yesterday and out of the corner of my eye I saw a Barbie jeep upside down in some trash pile on the side of someones house. We had both kids..one walking and one being pushed in a little toy car. Another words, no free hands. Anyway, we managed to each pick up one side of the jeep and haul it to our house. We washed it and looked inside and the person that put it on the trash pile left the battery in it with the battery charger. Amazing. I was so excited to see if it really worked. We charged it over night and this morning tested it out. It works like a charm. Sallie was so excited about it that the first thing that she said this morning was "where is my jeep?". Anyway, it goes a little faster than I would like for it to go and we need to get a seatbelt for Anna's side but other than that, it is as good as new. Sallie has a really hard time steering it right now but she will get that with time. I am really excited about my find. We had been talking about getting the girls one together for Christmas. I just saved myself about $250!! Thanks to whoever thought it was trash.

"I already know how to feed my Baby"

2009-07-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

Look what Anna knows how to do... Anna has really gotten into mimicking things that I do and things that Sallie does lately. She really just started doing this while we were at the beach for July 4th. It is so cute. I really do not remember Sallie doing this as much. Anna takes shoes and tries to put them on her feet. She also takes Ward's hats and tries to put them on her head. She can hold up a cell phone and put it to her ear (she sees way too much of this). Soon she will be trying to text! It is all really cute and she will work with a pair of shoes for a while before giving up. Last night while giving Sallie a bath, Anna was in Sallie's room playing with her babies. I gave her the bottle and told her to feed the baby and sure enough she put the bottle right to the baby's mouth. It was so cute. I had to get the camera and get her picture feeding the baby. I am sure glad that Anna likes the babies because I have been tyring to push baby dolls on Sallie since birth and she could careless about them. Give her a screwdriver or a outside toy and she is good to go. Give her a nice and expensive baby doll and she will loose her for months and not even notice that the doll is missing until I find the baby in the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper that does not get used in our closet. I have not even gotten Anna a baby doll yet and she already loves them. Go figure!!! I think that I am going to have two completely different little personalities in my household and I love it already.

Happy Birthday Peppy and Ella

2009-07-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

We celebrated two big birthdays Saturday. Peppy turned.... and Ella turned 3. Happy Birthday to two special girls. We had a delicious dinner at Jennifer's house and then some yummy castle cake that Jennifer made. It was so cute. Ella got lots of dress up clothes and some baby accessories that she loved. We had a blast celebrating!!!

The July 4th tradition continues

2009-07-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful July 4th as always. The tradition of going to Litchfield Beach continues and we had a blast. We did not go for the entire week but left on Thurs and came home Monday. It was a full house. We took part in the parade and decorated the golf cart. We played on the beach for three full days. Anna loved it which was wonderful because Memorial Day weekend she was very unsure of the beach. This time she soaked it all up and ate plenty more sand and loved drinking the salt water. Ward and I got a night out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law which is always a treat. We ate at PF Changs and had a delicious dinner. Sallie had Ella, her playmate, there this time so they had a fun time splashing around and playing in the ocean. Sallie watched fireworks on the beach and loved them as long as she was not in her bed listening to them. She thought that she heard thunder in her bed so came downstairs, did not see anyone, so walked out the back door and down to the garage before I found her screaming crying. It was dark outside. We were on the porch eating supper when she did all this. This is the reason that she scares me to death with being in a big girl bed. She needs a gate desperately. Anyway, we had lots of fun and look forward to next year.

June 2009

2009-06-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Anna is now 10 months going on 11 months. Can not believe how time has truly passed so quickly right before my eyes. I think that this first year has gone even quicker with Anna then it did with Sallie. Maybe that is just because we have been so busy. Anyway, Anna is crawling all over the house now on a mission. She can pretty much get into anything now. she loves to get in the bathroom and pull up on the potty and the bathtub. She loves bathtime and crawls around in the tub like a fish. She will put anything in her mouth and loves Jack's dogfood. This, I have caught her with many times. Must not taste too bad because she keeps going back for more. She really will eat anything. I can put cold peas and carrots on her tray and she will gobble them right up. I love it!!! Sallie on the other hand will fight me tooth and nail to eat anything unless it is junk food. We have had to do away with snacks for her for a while because she just will not eat at meal time. Anna now can say Daddy, Mama, hey jack and Sallie (this may be strecthing it). It is "Sallie" to me. She looks at Sallie and says something. Sallie is becomming a true helper with Anna and is such a good big sister. The summer program at Sallie's school this summer has been lots of fun. They do water day and ice cream truck day every Friday. This has been the highlight of Sallie's week. They also go to Chapel on Wednesdays with the big kids. She will be in the 3's starting August 10 (her birthday) and will go everyday from 9-12. I am getting sad about this as I am not really ready for everyday school. I guess we will adjust and when I need a little time with my Sallie, we will just have to take a day off. Anna will go only three days a week so that will be nice to have two days just with Anna by myself. Sallie is working on saying that she is 3 years old as we are almost there. She does a pretty good job holding up three fingers (thanks to Pops). Sallie is loving her ballet class that she is taking this summer and seems to be learning a lot. She is a precious ballerina!! We had a fun play date at our house last week. Lots of our cute baby friends came over. I will post some pics of the little ones inside while the bigger ones played outside. Can't wait to do this again. We are headed to the beach for a July 4th celebration and are looking forward to it. We always have a great time. Will post some pics when we return.

Daddy's Day '09

2009-06-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

When I asked Sallie what she wanted me to write in her Daddy's Day card for Ward this is what she said. I love my Daddy because:

1) he plays with me
2) he takes me on boat rides

3) he swings me

4) he lets me help him with things outside in his office

5) he makes me breakfast

and then we added together......he loves me and he is the best Daddy ever!!!

What a special day for Ward...First Daddy's Day with 2.. Ward you are the best Daddy ever and we love you so much for your enthusiastic, adventurous, positive, energetic, compassionate, God loving self.....You amaze me daily and have adjusted to Daddyhood as if it were your job. Thanks for all your support and love. Here are a few pics from our day. We did not do anything spectacular but it was a wonderful day. We went to church and to lunch and then home for naps and some rest time. Ward is now out doing his favorite thing....washing and waxing the boat. I think he almost likes doing this more than riding on the boat. Anyway, we will have a nice Daddy's day dinner tonight with fillet Mignon, twice baked potatoes and homemade lemon meringue pie.

Now to my Dad.....not sure that you really stay up to date with my blog but if you do heres to you. I love you for being such a wonderful Dad to me and a great Pops to my girls. I love you because you....

1) love me unconditionally (even when I was a teenager)

2) you played red ball with me

3) you tried to get me to love golf

4) you always help me out with advice in tough situations

5) you taught me to drive and bought me my first car

6) you raised me in a way to appreciate things and not to take things for granted

and the list goes on and on. Thanks for everything that you have done for me and to continue to do for me. I love you.

Anna's Baptism

2009-06-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Anna was baptized Sunday! We could not have asked for a better day. It was wonderful. She is a little late getting baptized. Ward kept saying that we were waiting for her to be able to walk up to the front of the church by herself. We were really waiting for the right time after joining the church and this past Sunday June 7th was the day. It was a wonderful sermon and Anna did great. I was a little worried about her due to her being a little older and going to the pastor and getting the water on her head. She has a mind of her own and she will let you know when she does not want to do something. She was a little verbal for the first part of the service prior to getting baptized but she did fine up front. She started smiling instantly as she was carried around the church looking at everyone. She was waving to the choir behind her as we were standing in the front. It was really cute. Sallie did pretty good as well. She participated in the children's church by helping with the prayer and then walked around the church with the pastor and Anna after Anna was baptized. We had a lunch at our house afterwards for family and my Mom cooked all the food. It was all around a wonderful celebration. I will post some pictures of Anna in her dress. This was my christening dress and Sallie wore it for her Baptism as well. It was so special to put it on Anna. Anna wore a cross necklace that my Mom gave her that was hers and Sallie wore my cross that I was baptized in. Anna's head was too big for the bonnet that I wore so we left that off. Anna is getting more mobile by the day and happier as gets more mobile. I think that she loves to be able to go and do what she wants. She is laughing all the time now and thinks that Jack is hilarious. We have decided that both our kids have a set of lungs that can be identified anywhere. Sallie started swimming lessons last week and is doing well. She loves it but 30 minutes flys by and she wants to swim longer. She has gone under water many times and has no problems with it. She has also learned how to doggie paddle and kick her legs with a noodle under her. Anna has gotten in the baby pool again with her Nana and we let the water warm up in the sun a little and she liked it. Maybe it is just the cold water that she does not like. Anyway, summer is in full swing and we are soaking up the summer fun!!

Beach 2009

2009-05-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

We are still at the beach however thought that I have a lot more time here, than I do at home, to blog. We came to the beach Saturday and will be here until Saturday. We are having lots of fun and the weather has been beautiful. Our trip started out kind of rocky however as of Monday we have been busy enjoying the beach and the boat. Anna got a fever bug Fri and it did not go away until Mon. We had to go to doctors care two times as the fever got kind of high and was not going away. We did a lot of Tylenol, Motrin, and Popsicles. Thank goodness my parents were here until Monday to help out with Sallie. Sallie is still a little fish and has no inhibitions about the water. Thank goodness we will start swimming lessons on Mon as she is making me a nervous wreck. She will go straight into the waves without looking back. Anna on the other hand is not crazy about anything on the beach but the sand. She has been eating sand by the handfuls. She has also been depositing the sand by the diaper fulls. We went to Broadway at the beach and played putt putt which Sallie loved. We then went to build a bear and built a beach lamb. It is pretty cute. Sallie loved making it but now could careless about it. It was a really fun experience for anyone that has never done it. I never really knew what it was but have wanted to go. We have been out for dinner a lot and Sallie told me last night that she loves going to restaurants. Everytime we leave to go somewhere and then head back home she asks if we are going to the beach house or Columbia. I think that she is going to be sad when we really head back for Columbia. We have been taking lots of "cart rides" as well and found a path where we can take cart rides to the ice cream store. We went in a really big candy store today at the hammock shops and got to pick candy out of barrels. Not sure who really enjoyed this more....me or Sallie? I snuck some of her candy. It has been a wonderful week and we have really enjoyed it. Ward took Sallie fishing and she got to reel in a little fish all by herself as she would tell you. She then let it go back to his mommy. We have gotten lots of pictures as this is really Anna's first time on the beach. She looks pretty darn cute in her swimsuit, I must say......I was looking back as pictures from our beach trip over the last couple of Memorial days as this is usally when we take our week vacation. Amazing at how much Sallie and Anna look alike at this stage. I did not notice how much until I looked at these pictures.

Watch out, Anna is crawling

2009-05-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Anna started crawling tonight. I had her on the floor while I was straightening up the bedroom and getting on my pjs. A few minutes later I heard her babbling in the hallway and thought that Ward had come in our room and gotten her. I looked over my shoulder and she was in the hallway all by herself. I ran, got the camera, some keys, and tried to get her to come to the keys...she loves keys. She did it on cue and we got some cute pictures of her first couple of crawls. It is pretty cute. I know that this excitement about crawling will be short lived especially in the morning when I am trying to get ready for work and Anna is in the bathroom trying to pull up on the toilet but it was cute tonight and she was very proud of herself. She started eating some real people food this week as well. She has been eating peas and carrots really well and she loves yo baby yogurt. She does not have any teeth yet and the doctor says that she does not see any in sight. I guess that Anna will be late getting teeth like Sallie. We had my niece and nephew spend the night this past weekend. We had a fun slumber party with pizza and movies. It was a lot of fun and they all enjoyed it. I do put mothers with 4 children, 5 years old and younger on a pedestal now. It was hard work!!! It was my sister's birthday though and they had a nice night out. We are gearing up for our week long beach trip starting Saturday. Sallie is so excited and has all kind of plans for her vacation. This will be the first time that Anna will actually go on the beach. We have been there two times but it was too cold both trips to go out on the beach. WE are looking forward to some family down time. Sallie was "working out" with me today and lifting "bones" as she calls my weights. She put the weights down and I was lifting a weight and she walked behind me and the weight hit her face right under her eye. So....if you see Sallie with the black eye, please don't ask questions. I feel awful. Anyway, will post lots of pics from our beach trip when we get back and have posted some pics of Anna's latest 9 month adventures...crawling, food, and slumber parties.

The Best Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

I had the best Mother's Day yet and we celebrated all weekend long. For Mother's Day Ward got me a appointment at my favorite hair place in Greer, SC to get a cut and color. We went to Anderson to spend the night with Ward's Mom Fri night and got to go out to a nice Dinner while Nana kept the kids. I left early Saturday kid free to get my hair done. We came back to Columbia Saturday afternoon and had a cookout with my Mom and family. Sunday we all went to church and then off to the lake for a boat ride. It was a wonderful weekend. Sallie and Anna made me a precious platter for Mother's Day and I will post a picture of it. I love it!!! The kids made their Nana a apron and their Peppy a little tote bag with their hands and paint. I will post pictures of their artistic abilities. I tell you what, the painting part of these gifts almost sent me over the edge with Sallie. She just wanted to paint everywhere and pour paint in bowls and she painted some on the carpet on the porch. We put the paint away for a while. I am so thankful for my precious girls and they made my Mother's Day so special. I am also so thankful for my Mom who made "me" possible. She has taught me so much and continues to teach me things everyday even when I don't want to listen. I am thankful for Ward's Mom who made him a wonderful husband and father. I am so thankful for my sister who is a wonderful Mother and has taught me the ropes of motherhood. Motherhood is flying by and I want it to slow down. It seems like my very first Mother's Day was just yesterday.

Watch our Peppy on WISTV

2009-05-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

The link below is my Mom, the kids' Peppy, on the news this week for her work with a child that is getting a cochlear implant. She did such a great job and we are so proud of her. What a amazing part she gets to play in this child's life...helping him to process new noises as he learns to hear. Hope this link works. Enjoy

http://www.wistv.com/global/category.asp?c=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=3851&topVideoCatNoB=67010&topVideoCatNoC=125643&topVideoCatNoD=87934&topVideoCatNoE=138849&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3723484

Sallie has really enjoyed playing t- ball so I am posting some pictures of her playing last week. She is actually really good at it. Anna enjoys sitting back and watching it all. Sallie has a busy summer planned for her. I just signed her up for swimming lessons and for ballet. I am excited about watching it all.

Igot some pictures of Sallie but have not uploaded them yet however Sallie has decided that she wants to sleep with no clothes on all of a sudden. I have no idea where this came from but she fights me everynight on this so I decided to let her just go to bed with just a pull up on. She says that she wants to get cozy with her blanket. If I make her put her pjs on she takes them off as soon as I leave her room. This is all new so we will see where this goes. Sallie and her cousin Ella are playing doctor together in this last picture. They were very quiet for a while so I walked back in Sallie's room and this is what I saw. It was pretty funny!

The Easter Bunny came

2009-04-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. It was a really busy but lots of fun. We went to Beaufort on Friday to spend the night with Ward's Dad and family. We had a great time. We got to spend some time with our niece, Ellis, and she and Anna had a ball playing on the floor together. Sallie loved playing with Addie and got to take a boat ride with Grandaddy. We came back late Saturday night and woke up here at home Easter morning, went to church, had a great lunch and then naps. Our church service was amazing and packed and by nap time the girls were all tuckered out. The girls were out of school all last week for Spring break and I was very happy for Tuesday when they started back. Trying to juggle school schedules and work schedules was hard. I am posting some pictures of the weekend and Easter morning.

On another note, Anna is now sleeping in her pack and play upstairs in our playroom. We have decided that we have got to get some sleep and can not be waking up radomly through the night with her cryinhg. It has really been great. As far as we can hear, she has been sleeping through the night. Just kidding. I do have a monitor and she does wake up occassionally but i just let her cry. It has gotten much better and she only wakes up crying every now and then. I feel really bad by letting her cry but know that she is fine and this is best for her. Ward and I have got to get some sleep before we loose our minds. Anna started clapping yesterday and it is so cute. She is really starting to do those fun things that I remember Sallie doing. She is not crawling yet but it won't be long. She is trying. Can not beleive that my baby is 8 months now. I know that I say it all the time but she is really just growing up to quick. Sallie told me yesterday that she can not wait until Anna can walk. They are going to have so much fun together.

Easter is Coming

2009-04-07T03:33:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since last post as I tend to get more behind now then before. I have been really busy with work lately. I feel like it has been so time consuming lately and I could not put my finger on the reason why. Turns out, I have been working a lot and I guess my expectations for myself have been really high over the last month. Turns out, I was the top producer in Columbia for this quarter working only 30 hours per week versus my co workers working 40 hours per week. I won a competition and my prize...a new ipod. Anyway, I was very excited but am going to slow down now!!! I have been stressed and now it is time for me to enjoy Spring Break with the my girls and especially Easter. I sure hope that my boss is not reading this :) Enough about me...we are really excited about Easter and Spring approaching. I love the warm weather and we have spent a lot of time outside lately. Anna is growing like a weed and saying a lot lately. It is all babble but a lot of it. She is pretty close to saying Da Da and of course Ma Ma has never been said. We have been working hard on it though. Sallie has been a talker for a long time now but she is getting a much bigger vocabulary. She was talking on the phone to Ward while he was out of town last weekend and was asking where he was and then paused and said "anyways, Mama wants to talk to you now." I was dying laughing. I guess this means that I say "anyways" on the phone a little too much. Sallie has been busy at school preparing for Easter. The Easter bunny came to their class and they had a Easter party. They have been learning about Jesus and the reason that we celebrate Easter. We dyed Easter eggs last week and have been on many Easter egg hunts. We are celebrating Easter here in Columbia this year and are looking forward to it. We are really looking forward to the summer, going to the beach, taking the boat out, and just hanging in the sun. Sallie got enrolled in the summer program where she attends school but Anna did not get in as her class was too full for the summer. Not sure what we are going to do with Anna this summer but are actively looking. With Easter approaching and all the new beautiful blooms on our trees and flowers in our yard, it makes me reflect on the beauty of our world and the blessings all around. I Hope that everyone has a Happy Easter.

We celebrated with McRea on Saturday for her first birthday. I can not believe that she is a year old. We had a great time at her birthday party. Happy Birthday baby Crea!! This also means that Anna's birthday is not too far away. How is my baby close to a year old? Here is a picture of McRea when she was born April 10th 2008 and here is a picture of her on her 1st birthday in her birthday Tutu

Our May is already looking really busy! We have lots of birthdays to celebrate in May, Mother's Day, and we are also finally getting Anna Baptized. We have been waiting to get her Baptized because we have been in limbo with churches. We are members of a church but seeking something a little smaller and searching for that church where we felt we were being called to serve in some way. We have been visiting a church for almost a year now and love it just were not sure if this was where God wanted us. We have felt in the last couple of weeks that we could very easily fill a place in this church so we are joining in the next couple of weeks and getting Anna baptized sometime in May. We are so excited and can't wait to see where God calls us to serve at Forest Lake Presbyterian Church. We will keep you posted!!!

Tea parties, boat trips and more

2009-03-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sallie has really gotten into having tea parties lately so I decided to post a couple pictures of our tea party last week. Sallie's tea parties always consist of diet coke. She never wants to pretend or use water. Her baby got to sit in on this tea party!! Won't be long before she and Anna will be having tea parties together.

We took Anna on her first boat ride this weekend and had a great time. The weather was beautiful and it was really warm. We only expected to be out there for about 1 hour or less and did not pack the sunscreen. Anna fell asleep within the first 20 minutes of our ride and we covered her up with shirts and sweaters however her little hands were hanging out of the side of the covered area and got a little sun burnt. It has not seemed to bother her. I felt horrible. Anna slept on the boat for about 2 hours. I guess we know the secret for a good nap. Sallie had a blast as always and really wanted to get in the water but it was freezing. We are looking forward to the summer already!!

I was looking through my pictures the other day and came upon some boat ride pictures of Sallie. I found some of almost this same time last year and nearly cried!! Sallie looks like such a baby compared to now. This was only a year ago and wow she has really grown up. Thought I would post. My girls are growing!!!!

I got some cute shots of Anna the other night after bath so I will post those as well. She is in that cute stage of grabbing her feet now. I remember Sallie getting her picture taken at this stage and love those pictures!!

Cousins and Friends

2009-02-22T18:15:00.003-08:00

We have had a lot of fun with our cousins and our friends and here are some of our pictures...

Dear Anna.....

2009-02-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

Dear Anna,

Happy 6 months!! Wow, time really does fly by. It seems like just yesterday I was saying that you were 3 months old and your Daddy just told someone the other day that you were 4 months old. You are sitting up now and have developed a little personality that I just love. You are so sweet and your smile lights me up. You make me work hard for my smiles but always give me one. You love your big sister and she is always guaranteed a smile from you. She can just look at you and you smile. You are a troubled sleeper but I think that Mama has just spoiled you a little. We are going to have to work on that. You love your rice cereal that we have started and eat your vegetables well too. You are a good eater and it is starting to show. You have the cutest chubby legs I have ever seen. Your teachers at school love taking care of you and talk about what a good baby you are. You really are a good baby. You love your johnny jump up and look like a little frog in it. You will jump for long periods of time. I am such a lucky Mama and love you more than you know. God has truly blessed us with two healthy and happy baby girls.

Mama

Dear Sallie......

2009-02-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Sallie,

Happy 2 1/2 day. I can not believe that you are 2 1/2 years old. You are the smartest, cutest, sweetest little girl I know and you will never know the joy that you bring to me. 2 1/2 years ago I did not know the joy that you would continue to bring into my life. You have made me the proudest Mama ever and I am so thankful for you. Your sweet little voice brightens my life and your pitter patter in the morning over to my side of the bed always makes me smile. You are such a wonderful big sister and Anna is so lucky to have you. You are so helpful with Anna. You have adjusted well to sharing your time with me and Daddy. I am so proud of you for that. You have a mind of your own and if it is on your mind then you are going to do it. You are funny and laugh a lot and you love to sing and dance. You remember crazy things that I did not even know that you heard. You like routine and if you do it once, you think that it is what you are going to do forever. You love your pappy and lovee and do not want to give them up quite yet. You love chocolate hot mints and must have one on the way to school in the morning. You must have a icee at target and have to ride in the car buggy at publix. You love going to the grocery store with me but are not always an angel while there. You like to exercise with me and get "wet" after you are done. This means that you are sweaty. You love school and look forward to going every day. You are always up for a adventure. You are not afraid of a stranger and will talk to anyone. Your new thing is to ask "why" about everything. The "twos" have been hot and cold and I am sure that they will only get hotter and colder but I would not trade a day of your life for anything in this world. I love you so so much..... Mama

Our famous dog, Jack

2009-02-05T04:08:00.000-08:00

I know that this blog is about my children however this entry is about Jack, our dog. He is such a wonderful dog that has been through bringing home two new babies to our house and handled it so well. Jack will take any attention that he can get these days (poor dog). I caught Sallie inspecting his ears yesterday and listening to his heart with her doctors kit and the sad thing is that he was letting her because he was getting some attention. Poor Jack used to be my #1 and now he is my number #4. He went everywhere with me and even slept at the end of my bed. Jack is lucky these days to get a Pat but he loves me unconditionally. I need to get better about this and show him more attention. Anna loves Jack as well and laughs when he starts barking or running around the house. Jack is such a good dog and has brought a lot of Joy to my life pre babies and pre marraige. Ward was not really a dog kind pf person before we met and he fell in love with Jack quickly. Jack is now bringing joy to Sallie and Anna even though Sallie is sometimes not so nice to him. We are working on this as well. Jack has recently learned a new trick that I think is pretty cool. He has learned to climb the latter on our play set and then slide down the sliding board. I think that this is pretty incredible. He used to do it going after a ball. Now he likes it so much that he does it on command. I am posting pictures of this. I really want to send it to funniest videos!!! Let me know if you think that we will win.

Hello dairy

2009-01-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

Well I took a dirty diaper to the doctor this morning to get tested for milk allergies after giving Anna a bottle of milk based formula yesterday and guess what...It tested negative which means ice cream, cheese, and milk watch out...here I come. I do think that Anna still has a little sensitive stomach and spits up a lot more when I give her formula and when I eat dairy however it is much better than it used to be and so mild that there was no trace of blood in her stool. Just thought I would share the good news. I am going to have a bowl of publix peanut butter lowfat frozen yougurt right now. Anna, you have been worth the wait, but it is time......I am so glad that your little stomach has developed and you have outgrown your allergy.

2009-01-27T06:21:00.001-08:00

Well, since my last post was about Christmas I decided it was time to blog about what has been going on since Christmas. We have just been hanging out and enjoying life. We had a little snow last week. Nothing really stuck to the ground however it was enough to call off school. We did get out in it for a little while but there was really nothing to play with. Sallie enjoyed watching it fall. Anna is starting to sit up with support now. She loves her food that she is now eating and always wants more. She is going to be my eater. Sallie never really liked the rice cereal or the baby food and Anna seems to really like it. Anna is still getting up one time in the night/morning but we are trying to break this ASAP. A Lot easier said than done!!! Sallie is continuing to talk up a storm and learn new words and phrases daily!!! She has picked up on saying um a lot when I ask her a question now and she is also starting to shrug her shoulders a lot. These must be things that she picked up from school right? I am trying to ignore them so they don't become a habit. Friday they have a nursery rhyme dress up parade at school as this is what they have been working on for the month of January. Not sure what Sallie is going to dress up as but I will post pics as soon as we have a outfit. We took a trip to the beach last weekend with my parents and had a great time. Anna did not sleep very well but we enjoyed getting away for the weekend. Sallie went bowling for her first time with Ward and really enjoyed it. It was freezing cold but Sallie did go out to the beach in her pjs for a couple of pictures. Ward and I got to go out to dinner and do some shopping kid free Saturday night while my parents kept the kids. That was very enjoyable. Ward's Mom came into town this past weekend and kept Sallie for a little while so that Ward and I could go out to another enjoyable dinner. We are truly blessed to have family to help out. One of the pictures posted is a picture of Anna after Sallie covered her with toys. Anna fell asleep like this. Sallie and Anna continue to be blessings daily and I just thanks God for my healthy and happy girls.

Our Christmas

2009-01-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Christmas we had. This post is very late but I have tried to sit down and post something so many times and have not finished so here it finally is.... Sallie got her motorcycle form Santa that she really wanted and has really had a great time riding it. She also got a scooter form her Nana which she has had a blast riding in circles around the driveway. She got a art easel that was her favorite gift but now has just become a huge mess because she paints her hands and her body and then gets in trouble. Sallie was really excited Christmas morning and loved putting out cookies and milk for Santa. It was pretty funny because Jack, our dog, ate the cookies and drank the milk before we went to bed so we had to replace them. Sallie started getting sick Christmas night and was up all night. She had a fever so we took her to the doctor the next day and they said that she just had a cold virus that was going around. They tested her for the flu but she was in the clear. Her fever finally went away the following day however she never bounced back to her normal happy self. We went out of town for New Years and she started complaining about her ear while we were there. Anna was really fussy as well and not sleeping at all. We were up all night for about 3 nights out of town and finally decided to leave Saturday. We took both girls to doctors care the day after New Years and it turned out that they both had ear infections. Sallie has really struggled with ear infections and has tubes in her ears but still seems to get them. Now Anna has had her first one at 4 months so I hope that this is not the start of many more. They are now recovering on antibiotics and we are finally getting some sleep. Anna is laughing and smiling all the time now. She is really getting to be so interactive. I know that I said this in last post but she really is so much fun now. When I go get her in the morning she just smiles and coos. She loves Sallie and laughs at just about anything that Sallie does. Sallie has been trying to pick Anna up lately so I have really had to watch her closely. Anna is still getting up in the night to eat but right now I am going to choose my battles. That is not one of them. Anna weighs 14 pounds now so she really does not need to be eating in the middle of the night any longer. Just a couple more nights of good sleep and then I will let her cry it out...maybe. Sallie is continuing to talk up a storm and keeps us in stitches with her funny sayings. She woke up yesterday morning and came running in our room telling us that she had birds in her bed. I had no idea what she was talking about and she was pulling me to her room to show them to me. I went in her room and she was right, it sounded like there were birds in her bed. Her sound machine automatically goes to the bird chirping noise when the power goes out. The power went out the other night in that wind storm and reset on the birds chirping. Anyway, It was hilarious. I started feeding Anna rice cereal and Sallie told me "no Mama, she just drinks milk". This is because I use to say this all the time when Sallie would try and put something in Anna's mouth. She does not miss a beat and is too smart for her own good. Sallie is such a loving child. She always wants to make sure that we know that she loves us. When I go somewhere now and come home she tells me that she cried. I ask her why and she tells me it was because she missed me. She really knows how to push my buttons. We had a Christmas break and hated to get back to work. I know that 2009 is going to be a wonderful year. My 2009 goals are to be a better mother, wife, and friend. I want to learn to cook better and read more. I want to worry less and play more. I want to take time for myself more often. My number 1 goal is to pray about everything everyday and grow more in my walk with God. I am so thankful for my life and all that I have been blessed with. Sallie, Anna, and Ward you have made me that happiest Mama and wife around and I hope that 2009 only gets better.

Christmas in Columbia 08

2008-12-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

Only 11 days until Christmas and we are counting!!!! We have done lots of fun Christmas activities over the last couple of weeks and Sallie is really getting excited!!! We went from asking Santa for a motorcycle and a scooter for Christmas and to a baby doll today. Wow, what drastic differences. We will see what direction Santa decides to go in. Sallie and Ward went on a train ride with Santa Saturday and we also went to the mall to see Santa a couple of weeks ago. She was not really crazy about Santa at the mall but did sit with Santa on the train ride. Sallie has decorated a gingerbread house and made lots of cute Christmas crafts for our Christmas tree. We all went downtown to the Christmas parade last Saturday with our friends. Sallie has learned that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and Jesus was born in Bethlehem. She is very excited about having cake and blowing out candles on Christmas for Jesus. I guess I need to get to baking. Anyway, our house becomes more active everyday and with Christmas approaching it is full charge. Anna is getting happier and more interactive daily and so much fun to be around. She really is a good baby!!! Sleeping has become more of a nightly routine now and she only gets up once in the night now. We have had to put a gate up at the door in Sallie's room due to her being able to open the door now and due to her getting up at all hours wandering around the house and because she has become quite the mischievous little girl. She is into everything now and I mean everything. She uses Anna's bumbo seat as a step stool to get boost herself up to the cookie jar or the candy. She saw me coming when she was doing this yesterday and managed to unwrap 5 Hersey kisses and put them in her mouth by the time I could get to her. I put her down for a nap last week and was upstairs working. I had the monitor on and never heard anything. About a hour after putting her down I walked downstairs to get something and started smelling something that resembled nail polish remover. I went back to the bedroom and she had gotten into my bathroom cabinets and.......painted her "poenails", sprayed hairspray everywhere including her hair and my bathroom floor, taken my hair straightening oil and dumped all three little bottles on the floor, colored my cabinets with eyeliner, and after that I stopped looking. I was in awe!! I wanted to laugh so badly at the look on her face when I caught her but knew that I could not. She could have gotten into the pack of razors and that would have been bad. I picked her up and placed her very firmly back in her bed. She says that I slammed the door but really I shut it very firmly. Everyone asks if I took pics and sorry I did not. I was too mad at the time. Due to this and her wandering upstairs in the middle of the night, her door is now being gated during nap time. Today is the first day so I will post the results. Our Christmas tree is up and we have really enjoyed decorating our new house. If feels like home and all our Christmas decorations fit so nicely in it. I will post lots of Christmas pictures that I have taken over the last couple of weeks. We had dinner with Ward's brother, Carter, and sister-in-law, Beth, and their new baby tonight. Little Ellis is beautiful and Sallie just loved her. I got a cute shot of the three girls. I will post that picture as well. It is so funny to see how babies from the same family look so different.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-02T04:19:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for my family and we had a great time this Thanksgiving celebrating family. The entire side of my Dad's family came down to the beach. We have not seen some of those family members since Ward and I were married. It was great seeing everyones children and letting them all play. We all had Thanksgiving lunch together and then got to watch the Clemson Carolina game on Saturday. The kids had a blast. Anna got a little off while we were there and did not want to sleep and did not want to be put down. This was a little frustrating but overall it was a great trip. We came home Saturday night and had Sunday to get ready for Christmas. I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks of seeing Christmas everywhere. Sallie seems to really be into Christmas this year as I think this is really the first year that she knows a little about what is going on. I did try and take her to see Santa Claus at the beach and she had no interest and said that she did not want to sit in his lap. he talked to her from afar and she told him that she wanted a motorcycle for Christmas. No babies, no dress up, no princess stuff, but a motorcycle. Go figure!! Anyway, hopefully I will be able to convince her to sit in Santa's lap with Anna. We will see!!

The Wiggles

2008-11-18T05:15:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it. We went to our first show, the Wiggles. It was so much fun. I actually enjoyed the Wiggles. Sallie enjoyed it as well however she did fall asleep in the middle of the show. It was during her normal nap time so she stayed awake for half then fell asleep and then woke up to see the end. She is her Mama's child. Poor Ward never gets to watch a entire movie with me. Anyway, it was fun. Anna stayed home with Ward while Sallie and I went and met Mary Grace and Betsy for the show. Other than that, our weekend was uneventful. Anna seems to be doing much better now with her reflux. She is smiling all the time now and I love this. She is still not sleeping through the night but hopefully that will come wiht time. They say that she is doing great at daycare as well. She takes a short cat nap there and then usually takes a long afternoon nap which is great for me so I can get some work done. Yesterday when I walked into daycare Anna looked like she had been crying for a while. They said that she did not like the temperature of her bottle. It looks like we have a high mainteance little girl on our hands. I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving holidays and some time off for some r&r.

Back to work

2008-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

Well I started back to work Monday and it was so hard. Sunday night was a long night to start with because Anna was up many times. Ward had to leave early Monday morning for a case in the upstate and Sallie decided to wake up at 5:00 am and get in bed with me and not go back to sleep. We made it to school by 9 and I got busy at home on the computer. Thank goodness I did not have to go anywhere Mon and I could work from home as there was no shower for me that morning. Getting back into the swing of things is going to take some time as I am sure that this is normal. I hated leaving Anna at daycare but she was only there for three hours and she did fine. She was screaming crying when I picked her up however they said that she had only been crying for a few minutes after she drank her bottle. Sallie goes on the playground and can look into Anna's room window. They said that she came down to check on Anna and when I asked her what Anna was doing, Sallie said that she was crying and Mrs. Kathy was rocking her. Sallie is my little watch dog. It is nice having one day on and one day off with work. Tuesday and Thursdays will be for story times and play dates. Mary Grace and Price came over and played today and we had lots of fun. I had a really cute video clip of Sallie saying the pledge of Allegiance that I was going to post for veterans day however for some reason it did not record so I will have to get this again tomorrow and post it. I could not believe that she was able to say the entire Pledge of Allegiance. She put her hand over her heart and said it and then started singing "I am proud to be a American". At the end of the song she said Amen. I was so impressed. She was even able to say indivisible to where I could understand it. We are going to see the Wiggles live in person Saturday and I am so excited for Sallie. I know she will love it. We have been watching lots of the Wiggles at home to prepare. We are still loving our new house and getting more settled. I finally got a picture of Anna smiling yesterday. She makes you work really hard for a smile so I have had a hard time getting a picture of a smile. I got one and will post!!! Sallie's new saying these days is "cause". When I ask her why she did something she says "cause". She also says "I don't know" a lot. She has been coming into our room in the mornings when she wakes up lately. I do not have a monitor in her room anymore since she is so close to our room and we leave all doors open. Sunday morning she came in our room and around to my side to wake me up. Her breath smelled really minty but at the time I did not put two and two together. Turns out she had been up for a while and I had not heard her. I walked into the den and she had my purse emptied all across the floor. She had every tube of lipstick open and had taken 5 pieces of gum, chewed them, and placed the wrappers neatly on top of the trash can. She had placed her wad of chewed gum on Ward's bed side table before coming to me as if she were trying to hide it. All I could do was laugh!!!! The child loves some gum and would do most anything for it.

Halloween

2008-11-04T11:35:00.001-08:00

Halloween was a fun night for us. We went to a Fall Festival with Mary Grace and Price and had lots of fun. We did trunk or treating and got to ride a ride and jump in a bouncy house. It was lots of fun and we hope to be able to celebrate Halloween like this for many more years to come. Sallie got a lot of candy and managed to eat a lot of it as she received it. We took care of the rest when we got home and tired to have a sugar detox the next day. Here are some pictures of the fun time that we had. Saturday night we had some friends come over and play and had a great time. We had wings, watched football and played!!!

6th folder 6th picture

2008-11-04T11:28:00.001-08:00

This is Sallie at the beach the summer 07. Wow! She looks like a baby and is so grown up now. Can not believe how time has flown by. Anyway here's what you do... go to your 6th picture folder and the 6th picture in it. Tell about the picture and then tag 2 more people., Whitney and Angela are it!!!

The new house

2008-10-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we have officially moved and are loving our new house. We moved on Friday and Saturday and got out of our last box last night. We are getting more settled everyday. It has been a crazy last couple of days but WE DID IT!!!! Our pictures are not hung and our sun porch remains empty but that will come with time. I have to return to work a week from Monday and want to take next week to just relax and spend time with the girls. I am dreading the return to work but know that I will ease back into it and make it work for now. Our house is wonderful. We love everything about it. We miss our wonderful neighbors and friends from Shirley street but know that they are only a couple of miles away. We have met our new neighbors and they seem really nice. I think that we have a female version of Mr Moon. A 93 year old lady lives diagonally across the street from us so I am anxious to meet her. Sallie has not said anything about the old house as she always says that she wants to go to her new house. I guess this is a good sign that she likes it. She has a nice big play room to play in now and that has been great. She also loves her play set outside and has learned to ride her tricycle. The tricycle was put away in the garage for Christmas and she found it in the move. Instead of fighting that battle we went ahead and let her have it. We made this her moving gift whatever that may be. I will post some pics of the house as soon as I can find my camera. Ha!!! We went to Boo at the zoo last night and had a good time. Sallie could not un wrap her candy quick enough. She ate more candy last night than I know. We did not take the camera with us so no pics of boo at the zoo. Anyway, Anna is napping so i must go take advantage of my time with two sleeping as that does not happen often.

Halloween 2008, the duck and the ladybug

2008-10-23T11:46:00.001-07:00

Anna's first trip to the beach

2008-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Well we took Anna on her first trip to the beach and had a really good time. After titling this post I realized that we did not take any pictures of her actually on the beach. Friday we went down on the beach and did some fishing but left Anna at the house because she was sleeping. Saturday it was cold and rained all day and Sunday, the tide was up and we left at lunch time. Due to all this, Anna was not on the beach, just at the beach. Oh well, we will get pictures next time. We did get some pictures of her on her first golf cart ride. We had a really good time and enjoyed spending some time with my parents. Sallie also got to watch me reel a fish in on Friday. I was not acutally fishing but watching Ward's pole for him while he was going to get a drink. I saw a tug at the pole and started reeling it in. It was pretty cool. That was the first fish I have ever caught and Sallie watched the whole thing. Her eyes were so wide as she watched that little fish. We threw him back to find his parents. He was a little too small to keep. While at the beach our first niece on Ward's side of the family was born. Beth and Carter had a little girl name Elizabeth "Ellis" Arrington Warren. She is precious and everyone is doing great. I will post a couple pictures of her. We went over there last night and had a great visit. Anna looks huge compared to Ellis and they are only two months apart. It is amazing at how fast they grow. Anna seems to be doing a little better and it has been confirmed that she does have a milk allergy for sure. We went back to the doctor today and had another diaper tested. It was all clear. Since I have been off of milk for a week we can only assume that is what caused the first diaper to reflect a allergy. Oh well we will see how long I can do this!! It has been tough. Only two more days until our big move. We are so excited. Sallie is getting ready too. I am not sure that she really understands but she seems to. There are boxes everywhere. On a last note, something really funny...Ward took Sallie to Lowe's with him last night. He was asking a man there for some help with the paint. After the man helped Ward, Ward said thanks, I appreciate it. Sallie turned around and yelled "Appreciate it" Ward said it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. She is a little parrot now. We really have to remember to be careful with everything we say....

You know it is October when............

2008-10-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin spiced items become available (especially at Starbucks, yum!!), football is in full effect, Fall festivals begin, pumpkins on porches, mums everywhere, and the South Carolina State Fair comes to Columbia, SC. As always, we went to Fair this year. We left Anna at home with Peppy and Ward and I took Sallie. Unfortunately we went on a day that was pay one price ride night and also a holiday from school for most school districts therefore it was so crowded you could hardly walk. Sallie could only ride three of the rides due to her height but wanted to ride every ride there. She was a little "difficult" to manage this year at the fair due to this and just due to her age in general however she loved the rides that she could ride and really enjoyed her ice cream cone. Ward got his fair food fix for the year and I just watched it all. I have become such a germ free crazy person that it was hard to enjoy some of the animal petting part this year. I will remember to pack my sanitizer for next year. Anna had her two month well visit today. She weights 10 pounds 8 ounces. She is in the 50th percentile for everyting. She is bigger than Sallie was at this age. I have been concerned over the last couple of weeks that Anna never feels comfortable. I know that she has reflux and bad gas pains however it just seems like she grunts in pain all the time and does not smile much. I had a lot of questions for the doctor this morning and even took in a stool sample. nice!!! The doctor loved that one. I noticed that her stools were getting more greenish in color and smelly. Sorry for the gross description. Anyway, they looked at it under the microscope and saw some blood in it. They believe that she has a milk allergy and that is why she is always uncomfortable. They are sending the stool sample off to make sure that it is not a bacterial infection however the doctor says that she is pretty confident that it is a milk allergy. I am soooo glad that I thought to take that diaper in. Before examining the diaper the doctor thought that it was just Anna's reflux. Now we can adjust my diet with no diary and see if this helps her. This is going to be so hard for me as I do love my cheese and especially my peanut butter cup ice cream every night, but I will do anything to ease Anna's pain. We will go back and re examine her stool in a week and see if this worked. She got 4 shots today and that was rough but we are all healthy and that is a true blessing. Please keep us in your prayers for a improved little stomach and for me being able to resist ice cream.

The weekends

2008-10-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

The weekends mean lounging around on Saturday mornings and not having to rush with breakfast and getting dressed. The weekends mean that Ward is around to help and not rushed off to work. The weekends mean reading the paper and drinking coffee slowly and not gulping it down. The weekends mean a good shower without interruptions and being able to put on makeup and look in the mirror. The weekends mean morning stroller rides and help at the grocery store on Sundays. The weekends mean a little time out to Starbucks or Target while Ward watches the girls. I love the weekends. This weekend Ward was out of town and Wow....talk about taking a step back and really appreciating all that Ward does that may sometimes go unnoticed in our busy lives. It was almost like Sallie knew that I was by myself this weekend. She tested every ounce of patience that I have. We went to lunch yesterday with my Uncle and Grandmother. Sallie was pretty good at lunch but just getting out of the house to lunch was a disaster. If I said white, she wanted black. Thank goodness she went down for a long nap after lunch. Anna slept really well Friday night but not so well Saturday night. Sunday the three of us went to church. I was so ready to get Sallie strapped in a car seat this morning that we were actually 15 minutes early to church and that was a first. I then decided to stop by the grocery store with both kids on the way home. Bad idea..... first of all where do you put groceries with two children in the cart when you have to get one of the car buggies from publix. This is the only buggy that we can get now when we go to the grocery store. They are so hard to steer and get around in publix but it is a fight everytime so I always try and find a car buggy. Then Sallie decided to run off from me in the parking lot of publix and when I called her, she looked at me, laughed, and ran even further. Needless to say, we came home, had a cracker for lunch, and Sallie went to bed. Ward is now home and it feels soooo good. I know that these two year old tantrums can be so trying but I will blink my eyes and Sallie will be all grown up. I am so thankful for these trying times. Bless her two year old heart.... I prayed for patience at church this morning!!!

A busy weekend

2008-10-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy and fun weekend. Friday we went to dinner with some friends and Saturday my nephew, Sam, had his 5th birthday party. I can not believe that he is 5. Wow, time flies. His birthday party was at Country Adventures and Sallie had a blast. She rode a horse, roasted marshmallows, had a hayride, and got to pet the animals. Ward took Sallie to the birthday party so that I could go to Beth's baby shower which was a lot of fun as well. The pictures that I will post of Sallie riding the horse make me laugh. They are so funny!!! She has not quit talking about the horsie ride and all the marshmallows that she ate. She smelled like a camp fire when she got home. Ward said that she did not care about the hot dogs and all that she wanted were the marshmallows and birthday cake. Saturday night Nana came and played for a little while before bedtime and Sunday we took Anna to Church for the first time. She did great. She was quite the entire service. We sat in the back just in case but did not have to get out of our seats. Now both girls are asleep and I am getting ready to join them!!!!

Proud new homeowners

2008-09-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we decided that it was time to put our house on the market and leave 1310 Shirley Street. We are starting to grow out of our little cozy home and found a house that we love in Forest Acres. We put our house on the market and within 18 hours it was sold. We then put a contract on the house we love and within a day had a signature on that one as well. It all worked out great and our prayers were answered. We will close on October 27th. Wow!! I am already getting really sad. We will leave the only home that we have known since we have been married and the only home that both Anna and Sallie have ever known. We have awesome neighbors and have been blessed by some of our best friends being right down the street. Mr Moon will be greatly missed as well. I know that we are not going far and I have to just keep reminding myself that this is all part of the growing process and we must move out of our comfort zone sometimes to grow. Anyway, October will be busy with this move and I go back to work on October 26th. This is the end of my maternity leave. This will be a sad day as well.

Today we finally broke down and joined the Riverbanks zoo. We have been two times in the last week so we decided to go ahead and join. Feels kind of neat to be able to now go to the zoo whenever we want to as members. We had a great weekend. Friday night dinner at Monterrey was nice and Saturday we had a good visit from Ward's Dad, Katherine, and Addie. We went to the zoo and had a fun time. It wore Sallie out. She is still napping as we speak. I will post some pictures from our zoo trip. She liked the train ride and carousel best of all. It was a wonderful week and weekend.

Good Night Moon

2008-09-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sallie's favorite book is Goodnight Moon and we have the book memorized. She wants this book read almost every night. Her favorite neighbor to say hello to and sit with on the front porch is Mr. Moon. Mr Moon is 90 years old and still drives a car, cooks, and mows his own grass. He loves Sallie and Sallie really enjoys going over to his house and sitting in "her chair". When he is not sitting on his front porch, which is rare, she says that he is inside drinking his coffee. She says hello to him and waves from across the street many times a day. It makes his day!!! I've attached a really cute pic of Sallie sitting in "her chair"on Mr. Moons front porch. She walked over there gave him a big hug and wanted to sit with him. It brought tears to my eyes and almost to his. I do not have any other exciting blog news however I have taken a few new pictures that I will attach.

Happy 1 month Birthday to Anna

2008-09-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Anna is 1 month old today!!! She is starting to sleep a little better at night especially when she is in the bed snuggled with me. She is done with the awful antibiotic that makes her stomach upset so that is wonderful. She is also starting to get a little more meat on her bones which makes me very happy! I can not wait for the chunky legs like Sallie had. She has started a semi smile after she eats but I have still not determined if this is a true smile or just gas. Sallie had a good weekend with lots of visitors however they were all adult visitors so not as much fun for her as it was for us. She and Ward went on a boat ride on Sunday which she really enjoyed. I also enjoyed some quiet time here at home to read and clean the house. Other than that, it was truly a low key weekend which is really nice sometimes.

Praises for a clean bill of health

2008-09-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

Anna had her second ultrasound today and a VCVG test done at Richland Hospital today. She then went to a pediatric urologist and got the results. Everything looked good and she does not have reflux of the bladder. Thanks for all the prayers. They think that it was just a one time urinary track infection however she will have to stay on a low does of antibiotics until she is either 6 month old or 1 year old depending on what things look like then. That is a long time however we do not want another UTI. She is now sound asleep after a long day and after a very long night. Wow! Two long nights actually. For some reason she has had two really bad nights where she has been awake and grunting like her stomach hurts all night long. I know that the antibiotic that she is currently on makes her stomach a little upset so I will be so glad when we are done with that one in two days. Just a quick update for now. Need to get some rest!

Wow what a morning

2008-09-03T07:44:00.001-07:00

Well, we made it home from the hospital Monday night and we are into our second day on our own just Sallie, Anna and myself as Ward has officially gone back to work. Anna is doing better and is on oral antibiotics. We have to follow up with the the doctor tomorrow to see where we go from here. I can not wait to check Anna's weight again and make sure that is good. Like my tittle says, Wow we did have a morning!!! Anna actually had a good night last night however it was still a busy and crazy morning. From 7:00 when Sallie got up until she went off to school at 9 was full on craziness. This was Anna's awake time and Sallie's breakfast and get dressed time. We finally made it to school only 15 minutes late. I went barely dressed, unbrushed teeth, and bed head. What a sight!!! Sallie said a full sentence this morning which I think was a first. It was a question and I have not heard a full sentence question yet or if I have, it was not understood fully. She said, "What is this for Mama?" Of course it was something that she was not supposed to be touching however go Sallie for the full sentence. It was a electrical plug protector that she found on the floor, I hope.....Anyway, that was pretty neat and made the morning brighter. I must mention that I made a mistake in last blog and can not figure out how to correct. Sallie was born 8/10/06. Thanks Betsy for the notice. Well, I am posting a couple photos from the hospital. Thanks so much to everyone for the prayers. They have really worked and please continue to pray for Anna and her progression with these upcoming tests.

The start of our blog

2008-09-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

So, I finally decided to start a blog for my two children. I love to follow other people's blogs and read about what is going on with their children so I decided that I would start my own. I have also had some extra time on my hands lately so we will see how long this lasts. I feel guilty that I did not start one for Sallie when she was a baby however I will blog about her a lot to catch her up. What a blessing my two girls have been to Ward and me. Sallie is now two and if you did not know her age, you would just need to be around her for about 1 hour and you would know. She is testing the limits now and throwing some two year old tantrums however she is still so precious and I am so thankful for her and the joy that she brings to us. She does and says things that blow my mind everyday!!! Sallie knows what she wants when she wants it and she will not let you forget anything. She gives the best "big hugs" and Eskimo kisses ever. She is a picky eater but loves candy and junk!! Shocker since her Mama loves candy more than anything. I introduced her to candy at a young age and am paying for it now. Anna was born 8/15/08 and was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 inches long. Her full name is Ann Arrington Warren and she has a headful of dark hair and looks nothing like any of us to me. I am sure that this will change with time. Sallie was born 8/10/06 and was 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long. Sallie had a lot of dark hair as well but not near as much as Anna has. We were at home for under 2 weeks and on Thursday 8/28, we had to admit Anna to the hospital with a temperature of 101 degrees. She had to have a urine test, blood cultures, and a spinal tap done to rule out many dangerous viruses. It was determined that she has a urinary tract infection and she has been on heavy doses of antibotics since. We are hopefully leaving the hospital late this afternoon. We are so ready to get home and enjoy our baby and see Sallie. Sallie went to the beach with my parents and has had a great time. We have talked to her many times each day and sounds like she has had a blast. I miss her sooooo much. This is first time that she has gone to the beach without us. It was good to be able to focus on Anna and not worry about Sallie being at home missing us. I do not really think that she misses us near as much as I miss her. I will post some pics of our camp hospital stay soon. Anna has gained a lot of weight since being here which is great because that was a concern of ours prior to her getting sick. She is now 7 pounds and 6 ounces!!! We will have to continue the antibiotics for a while at home and then check her again in about 4 weeks with another ultrasound and a test that will determine if her system is functioning correctly. Please keep sweet little Anna is yours prayers that everything will be normal and we are out of the woods. It has been a rough couple days but we have made it and are on the road to recovery. There is no place like home!!! Sallie has been so sweet to her baby sister so far. She loves to give her kisses and hold her but when she is done she is done!!! She loves to wake up from her nap with us all snuggled in her bed for a while. I hope this lasts and they are as close as I am to my sister!!! Two girls are so much fun!!!! Anyway, this is really long for my first blog so I will go for now and write more on another day!!!