The girls played dress up....

After being snowed in early in the week, we were all ready for the Valentine's festivities!

Mollie had her party at FKDO on Thursday, Feb. 11. To be honest, I didn't even go down to her class. I'm a bad mom! I was busy making sure all the kids had good bags and the food for their parties.

Thursday night there was supposed to be a Daddy/Daughter thing at church. It was cancelled due to the ice on the roads. So, Brian took Ellie and Mollie to Purple Cow. They were so excited! I don't think they have a clue how special it is for them to spend time like that with their dad. They will some day.

Ellie's class had their party on Friday, Feb. 12. Ellie was super excited! We made a box for her Valentine's. She was thrilled with it. For her party, we made ice cream sundaes and the kids exchanged cards. It wasn't much, but I think they had fun. I have never seen her class so calm and relaxed. After they were finished with the party, the quietly went to "centers" and played. It was really nice.

Ellie and her box. It was FULL of cards and candy.

Just had to share....I went in to get Annie the other day, and this is what I found.

I took A for her 9 month check up this past week. She weighs 18 lbs. 13 oz and was 30 1/4 inches tall (I think, ha!). Dr. Feelbetter said A's height is off the charts!! It's such a switch to hear someone talk about my baby being tall. We haven't heard that since Ellie. :) We also discovered that A had an ear infection. Once again, we are back on antibiotics. I am happy to report that she is now back to sleeping through the night! Praise Jesus!! We've also started giving Annie meat sticks with her veggies and fruit at dinner. She has been thrilled! She's doing great as we experiment with table food. She is such as sweet baby!

I've heard that baby #3 typically doesn't do things very early, that they tend to take their time becoming mobile, etc. It's never bothered me that Annie wasn't crawling or getting into things. In fact, I enjoyed the delay in Annie's mobility. It meant I had one less person to chase around the house. Ha! I knew the day was coming, but I have to admit I wasn't ready for it to come so quickly!



It seems like just yesterday that I discovered that Annie was slightly pulling herself up so that she could see over the bumpers in her crib.

Or, that I was able to leave her in her room without a gate only to find her rolling around her room and

ending up under her crib.

Many of you know that Mollie is not the best at going to bed. Several nights a week she ends up in bed with us. Oftentimes we get her in her bed, but she wakes up crying between 2:30 and 4:00 am. It's frustrating, but I'm grateful when we can get her to stay in her bed even for a little while. Last week during the snow, Mollie got up, after being put to bed. However, she got upset with me when I couldn't hold her. I had to do a little work (i.e. get the word out about our snow day). Mollie wasn't having it, but she agreed to let her daddy hold her. This is what I found when I finished my work....

Guess who's 9 months old today??!?! It's incredible to think that Annie has been with us for 9 months! Unbelievable! It seems like yesterday that we were sharing our little "secret" with the world. Then a few months later, we welcomed our little caboose to our little family. What a joy she is!! Annie isn't crawling just yet, and that is fine with me. That's one less little person that I have to chase around our house. She is spending lots of time playing on the floor. She's desperately trying to get around and will roll to get whatever she needs. She's making new noises (growls a lot!) and is "talking" constantly! Everyone that sees her says that she is the happiest baby and is such a sweetheart. Annie is definitely a blessing!

Look what I found!

This morning began as any other morning. I crawled out of bed at 5:20, dragged myself to the shower and got ready for the day. I tiptoed around our room, grabbing my phone to text Karen (a daily tradition of good morning, praying for you, hope you slept, etc.). Imagine my AMAZEMENT and SHOCK when I discovered that my FIL had sent me a text saying school was closed. I swear I thought, "Oh, Arthur accidentally sent me a text." I immediately ran to the window and there was SNOW!!! I started replaying the news from Sunday night and kept thinking it's supposed to snow tonight not last night! ha!! I honestly think God know I needed a day at home - that we as a family needed a day at home! What a day it has been!

Brian worked from home. Fortunately, my daddy and mama ran by my office at church and got my cell phone charger on their way home from my dad's office. Mama and I were laughing that snow is not nearly as much fun without my dad buzzing around, running errands for all of us. :) For those of you who are confused at this point....About a week ago, we had an ice storm. My dad was on his way to the office on Saturday morning when he stopped by the post office to check his box. On his way back to the Jeep, he fell breaking his wrist. The exact words that Dr. Barnett said after his surgery were "the bone was crushed!" Fortunately, he is on the mend and staying home now that the roads are bad.

We took the girls out fairly early this morning. Tom Brannon called for rain, and we wanted to get out before it got too wet and nasty. We went out right after Annie woke up. (for those who follow me on facebook, you know that she doesn't always sleep all night, nor does she sleep late anymore!)

Mollie and Ellie were way too excited to be outside! Please note I "forced" them to wear hats. Can't have anyone getting sick!

My sweet nephew Noah is going to be a big BROTHER!!! Yippee!!! Mandy and Josh are expecting Baby #2 September 8th. He/She will make his/her grand appearance either Aug. 31 or Sept.1. We have been praying as a family for this precious life for the past several weeks. Now, you can all pray with us. I know that Noah is going to be a FABULOUS big brother.

I know that there probably aren't may folks who read this blog, but for some reason, I had to share. This is my new favorite product:

It is amazing! When I was switching laundry from the washer to the dryer this weekend, I found a bib that had not been pre-treated before going into the wash. I thought it was a goner, but I decided to try the Oxi Clean Baby on it. I couldn't believe my eyes! When you spray it on your item, it begins to foam up; and you can see the stain breaking up. The big had a slight stain, but it was nothing like it had been before the Oxi Clean!

Just thought I'd share in the hopes that this might help someone. :)