toothless grins and gymnastics pins

I don't remember if I had posted or not a couple weeks ago, when Abigail lost her front tooth. It was already loose and then she ran into the wall at school (yeah...I know. At least she was racing in the gym...that makes it a little better, right?) and the collision knocked the top left loose. Michael persuaded her to let him pull it, and after lots of fear-tears and about 15 minutes, it came out! 

The tooth fairy forgot to come the first night...oops...but she came the next night to leave a reward in exchange for the tooth. 

Then, as luck would have it, she got elbowed in the mouth during a game of tag on the playground Thursday, and knocked the top right nearly out. She came home and pulled herself this time which was much less dramatic then round one. She was so very proud of herself, and although I think she looks precious with her toothless grin, it just makes her look way too old to be my little baby girl!

He wanted some attention too :)

As if a tooth loss wasn't a big enough milestone for her in one week, she was also moved up to the next level at gymnastics, and is now a proud member of the mini-team!

We went in extremely early this morning for her test, and she did great! So now instead of her 1.5 hour class, she will be in a 2 hour class. Lots and lots of gym time. I'm not sure which she was more excited about...the fact that she moved up, or the fact that she got another awesomely sparkly pin to add to her collection

Either way, we are very proud of her!

We had soccer pictures and a soccer game literally fifteen minutes after she got done testing, and I could tell that the poor girl was tired after 2 hours at gymnastics, then running up and down the soccer field. Good thing she is napping right now, because she has an "A's play" play hour back up at the gym this afternoon, which they give for making straight A's on report cards. I officially feel like a "soccer mom" and am totally okay with that. I'm not sure how we will juggle everything once Jaxon starts getting involved in sports and the like. We will cross that bridge when we come to it!

I really like our Saturday's to be filled with outings and activities, just like I like our Sunday's to be filled with rest and relaxing! 

I hope your Saturday is filled with fun too!

Picture Time

My good friend Megan over at MDG photography took some great family pictures for us yesterday!

It was such a fun photo-shoot, and so relaxed!

I think she did such a great job, and I am overjoyed to finally have a picture with all four of us in it! I cannot wait to blow three of them up and have them framed to hang in our hallway.

Thank again Meg!

Beautiful things

Jaxon and I found ourselves with a couple of hours of free time yesterday.

Big sister was at a church event and Daddy was at work.

It was too windy for the park, and it was such a pretty day, so we decided to go for a drive!

We ended up in a tiny little town (about 15 minutes out) that I'm quite sure doesn't even show up on a map

But let me tell you, it was gorgeous! 

I love finding myself in the country, with few buildings, no Starbucks, and just miles and miles of the beautiful things that God has made.

Now I am in no way pretending to be a photographer, but I just couldn't help but snap a few pics of this beauty!

Beautiful.

And speaking of all things beautiful...

I made whole grain banana bread with flax seed and wheat germ today.

It may not look like much but let me tell you, my crew tore it up!

 I didn't mention to them the whole-grains and other goodness that I added...no need to spoil a good thing!

I'm sure the loaf won't last much longer, so I made back up for the deep freeze.

If we weren't having family pictures tomorrow (which I'm sure my mid-section will be captured in to some extent) , I would be in the kitchen right now toasting one of these babies and putting some smart balance on it. Yum.

xoxo

Ok seriously. Stop. Growing.

We had a MAJOR milestone this weekend...

Abigail rode her bike without training wheels!

But before we could ride, Jaxon helped out by fixing a flat tire for big sister.

Such a handy little man :)

Ehem. Back to the bike riding.

She's going...

going...

gone!!

and there is a tiny little man chasing after her!

I guess everybody wanted a turn.

And those that didn't get a turn did not appreciate it.

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Also, Big sister started soccer this week! She did great, and got lots of good kicks in.

Such a big improvement from three years ago where she sat on the field and pouted saying "I want to play cheerleading!"

Ohhh, how I love that little girl. Who is starting to be not so little anymore.

I hope you're weekend was as full of outdoor fun as ours was!

Random Jumble

Wow!

It's been a while since I was able to sit down and write an actual post. 

I gave a half-hearted attempt on Monday by posting a super old picture of the hubbs and I, in hopes that it would somehow turn into a real blog post. I couldn't even think of a clever/witty/half way decent caption to go underneath it.

Fail.

"Life" has been happening a little more frequently than normal around here. I'm thankful that it is just a season because I don't think I could live like this full time! Today is no different and I'm not sure I can pull off a complete and organized post, so will you settle for a random jumble of thoughts and recent events? I hope so.

•   We celebrated my Mom's birthday on Monday...finally! The actual date was nearly 2 weeks ago but due to the wild ice storm and every one's schedule, we weren't able to do it until this point. It was great, the weather was beautiful, and the food was fantastic. Happy Birthday Mom!

•  Abbie's gymnastics class lasts an hour and a half, which is a  l o n g  time for me to sit there on the bleachers! Yesterday the owner asked if I would coach the mini team during her class on Wednesdays and I gladly jumped at the offer. I love and very much miss all things gymnastics/cheer/dance and can't wait to get out there on the gym floor again. 
• Abbie addressed all her own Valentine's to her friend's this year w/out any of Mom's help. She just took a pencil to them and went to work like such a big kid, and picked each one specifically for each friend.

• After she finished addressing, she put them in her craft basket which sits on the bottom shelf in the laundry room...just at Jaxon't reach. He grabbed one, thinking they were candy (they are not...they are gel clings...) and proceeded to eat it. Once I realized what had happened I called poison control, which led to a minor ER visit, who referred us to the actual emergency room. Luckily the doctor was VERY nice and said that since he was able to drink, and acting completely fine, that a scope would NOT be necessary and that he would save us a couple grand and just send us home. So thankful, because I cannot imagine having to hold him down while they stuck a long camera down his throat! Poor boy. I think that all the morning sickness I had while pregnant with him was just the Lord's way of preparing me for the things this child would put me through. Wow.
• Our sweet nieces and their Mommy were in town this past weekend, which is always nice because we don't get to see them NEARLY enough! I just love them so, and Abigail feels the same way!

lots of smiles

And...dance lessons?

and kisses

And love.

• Jaxon has decided to give this "terrible two's "thing a whirl. His favorite past time lately has been hitting and throwing things (cars, cereal, puzzles, etc.) at the TV. This has resulted in him spending about 45% of his time in time-out. I know it's just a season but Lord help me, I don't even want to take him in public at this point! Prayers are much appreciated.
• I have not gotten a full night's sleep in over a week. Jaxon has had an ear infection and is waking up routinely at 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. and demanding (through tears and hyperventilation) that he watch Diego. Perhaps this is the reason I can't form a complete thought!
• Michael's ankle is still disturbingly swollen/bruised/hurting. He isn't supposed to be walking on it w/out crutches but being the stubborn man that he is, he refuses to use the crutches that the Dr. prescribed, and is working 10 hour days on his feet nearly the entire time. He won't make an appointment with a podiatrist either. Awesome.
• We have been playing a lot of dress-up lately. I just adore having a little girl.

• It's not just Mommy's clothes that are making her seem more grown up lately. First of all she lost her front tooth. Sad, but exciting day. And Second...(brace yourself for this...) I over heard her telling her friend during carpool that there is a boy in her class  that she has a  c r u s h  on. I know. It is horribly sad. Before she started school she didn't know what a "crush" was, but apparently her BFF at school has a boyfriend AND an ex-boyfriend. Great. I remember I had a "crush" when I was her age and I drew hearts around his picture and told my friends that he was "cute" and that was basically the extent of it. Totally harmless when it's me. Totally tragic and way too fast when it's my baby girl. I know she is a Godly little girl that loves the Lord and will make good choices, and it's really not her I worry about...it's those boys! I also know I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but this is what opens the door into the world of boys. I'm not ready for her to start grow up yet.
• I've been having some anxiety about the kids diets lately. Like every other kid (or adult for that matter) they love sweets. I tried to stay away from them for Abigail, and did pretty well until she went to preschool (or any of her grandparent's houses, ha) and it was just a lost cause. They were everywhere and still are. I'm trying a new approach that I've been reading up on. Pretty pumped up about it, and I'm praying that it does some good with my little chocoholics!
• We have Date-Night scheduled for this Friday. Remember this post? That is the last time we had a date night, it's been a little while! Can't wait to spend some time with my favorite man in the entire world. :)
• I ordered this book last week, and cannot wait to get it in! I heard the author on a talk show about a year ago, and finally got around to ordering her book. I'll let you know how it is!
• I have been cooking and baking from scratch lately like it is my job. Oh wait...that sort of is my job. Nevertheless, it has been fun! And aside from the fun, our grocery budget, and waist lines are thanking me for it
• Michael Scheduled a couples massage for us on Valentine's Day, and it was nothing short of amazing. I wish we could have one every day. 
• I'm trying a new font, and trying to decide if I like it. There are only seven to choose from on blogspot, so this was just one of my limited options.
• We bought this for Jaxon, and he actually used it for the first time! How wonderful! I promised him spider man underwear if he can go like a big boy, so hopefully that will help too.
• I really really reallllllly want the new Francesca Battistelli CD. I don't think it's out yet, but when it is, I will be ready!
• How did I not know how awesome Pandora radio is? I am officially incapable of cleaning my home without a mix of Hillsong radio and Jack Johnson radio streaming through the blu ray player.

I could go on probably go on longer, but I know Jaxon won't be sleeping forever, and nap time is prime time to get things done around here!

I promise to try and be a better blogger and stop being such a stranger from now on.

Happy (almost) Friday!

heart day

Seven Valentines down, and each one gets better and better :)

Snow bunnies and busy bees

incase you were unaware...it is freezing outside!

Our mall is actually closed today...which is the first time I have ever heard of this happening in all my (nearly) twenty-five years of wisdom.

Since we're not even considering getting out on the roads, we've been keeping pretty busy around here

Playing...

snacking...

Resting a badly sprained ankle that happened on the first day of vacation...

Board games (since there really isn't much else you can do with a bad ankle...poor guy)

We finally decided to go play in the snow. It took us 30 minutes to get a toddler, big girl, adult, and cripple bundled up enough to brave the cold

And after all that work, we only lasted about five minutes out there. But it was fun while it lasted!

And Daddy even decided to come out on crutches. What a trooper!

It was so cold with the wind blowing snow right in our faces. I much prefer to enjoy the snow from our window.

If the wind wasn't so painful I would LOVE to jump on the snowy trampoline! Maybe when it gets out of the single digits...

I plan on doing not  much more than just snuggling with my babies by the fire and playing all day long. Especially with a 45 minute electricity blackout planned for our area...we will need to snuggle to stay warm!

I am so thankful for a roof over our heads to protect us from this weather, and am thinking about and praying for those who are stranded or homeless. There are about 200 people stranded at the greyhound bus station here...I can't imagine!

Stay warm :)

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This has nothing to do with snow...but Abbie got a "sassy big girl haircut" (as she calls it) on Friday, and I just have to show you!

and a side shot from the blackberry

Pretty sure she is the most beautiful girl on the planet.

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Happy snow day!