Anniversary Surprise!

My WONDERFUL former boss blessed Brian and I with tickets to a Family Life "Weekend to Remember" conference about 4 months ago, and it was for any location of our choice. As we looked on the Family Life website for locations and dates, the one in Las Vegas "just happened" to fall on our 5 year anniversary, so we thought we would go for it. Not to mention we "just happened" to have an extra pay period fall between the time we were blessed with the tickets, and when we would actually go. The details were already worked out by the Lord, we just needed to be faithful to go through with it.....so we did!

Needless to say, we had an AMAZING time. And it truly WAS a "weekend to remember!" For more reasons than we had thought going down there. The Hotel (Red Rock Resort) was phenomenal, and beat anything or any place Brian and I had ever been. Our relaxing time by the pool actually turned Brian into a little Sunbird, which I was thrilled to see! The conference brought up more topics than we anticipated, and made for some really great one-on-one conversations and quiet times together. Our date night on Saturday was spent over on the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel we stayed at (conference location) was about 15 miles away from the Strip, so we thought we would go check out the hype. It certainly wasn't what either of us had remembered, or perhaps we're just at different points in our life now where it just wasn't for us. So we took a cab back to the hotel and settled in with some Ben & Jerry's ice cream, which was located downstairs IN our hotel! It was perfect.

The "icing on our cake" for the weekend would have to have been finding out we will be parents to 3 beautiful blessings in a few months, rather than just 2! Admittedly, it wasn't a complete shock, but a welcomed "finally" discovery. And the fact that we found out ON our anniversary, made it PERFECT. It was our first of 4 mornings waking up in Vegas that we found out. Made for a more significant trip to spend together! Probably the last one like that for just the two of us for awhile. But it is a good story to share for sure!

Of course it didn't take long for the excited shock to phase and quickly become panic! Ha! And I can say that each day since finding out, I've wavered between the two emotions A LOT! I'm not the only one....I think Brian is still in denial! Three will change things, but of course for the better. We can't wait to become a family of 5!

No Foolin'!

It's hard to believe that our little Macey bug, (aka: our "Little Chomop Chomp") is 1 year old already! It's hard to describe the joy that has been added to our lives since she surprised us with her arrival a year ago yesterday. All I can say, is our family would not be the same without her in it!

I think it's safe to say she enjoyed her party. With nearly 40 people at our house last night for dinner, cake and presents, I just wasn't sure what to expect of the birthday girl's attitude. But she was quite the dollie, enjoying all the excitement that came with her special day. Here are a few pictures of the cake, her individual cake, and her checking it out!




Here are just a few Macey "highlights" from this past year:

~ The girl can (& loves to) eat! Hence her nick name of "Chomp Chomp." So much different than her older sister...this girl will eat just about anything and everything we put in front of her. Needless to say, it's been a blessing for Mommy!

~ She is walking as of about 2 weeks prior to her actual birthday. What started off as a step or two or four, is now full-blown, walking. Of course there are the unsteady moments, where she realizes crawling is easier and faster, but for the most part, she is ready to chase her sister on 2 legs instead of crawling! Look out, Annie! She's a comin' for you!

~ This little one is a climber! We had to drop the crib to its lowest setting at about 4 or 5 months of age. And since then, we have noticed her bravery in several "obstacles" in our home. Yikes...Brian is a little worried we have a future rock climber or something among us!


~ Milk is doing her body good! Although we haven't had her 1 year well-child checkup just yet, we are encouraged by the ease and excitement shown from her, after her early introduction to real cows milk. She loves it! Once again, a relief for mommy, as her dear sister still wants nothing to do with the white stuff....or brown, or pink. Yes, I've tried all kinds and still no luck.

~ Off the bink....no pacifier by the age of 1. Not bad. We never faced a major "issue" with big sister, but you never know how they will take it. Smooth as butter. She soothes herself well with her blankie and close friend, Elmo!

~ She is a lover of anything and everything to do with Annie. It's so heartwarming to see the love these 2 sisters already share. At only 17 months apart, we are certain their relationship will only grow over the years, and hopefully they will remain close throughout their lives.


We just can't wait to see what this next year holds in store for her! Happy Birthday, Macey! We love you!

Poop, Or Get Off The Pot!

Ok..........another 6 months, just about and here I am again. A slacker. Let's just start with our most recent "happenings."

Today we began potty training "for real" with Annie. (Hence the title of this entry) The day was a complete disaster, from a mother's standpoint, as I wondered what in the world I was thinking only a half hour into the day's new routine. The idea was simple. We would start at 8am, and try to potty on the big toilet every hour. Easy, right? Not as it turned out. Annie's diaper was bone dry at 8am, so I was thinking it was going to be a piece of cake. I mean, after all, she's been going at church, successfully, for the past half a dozen classes or so. Now I begin to question the teachers as to what their interpretation of "successful" is! Sure, she may line up with the other 2 year olds who are in her class when asked if anyone needs to use the potty....but it doesn't mean she really knows what she's doing! I never knew peer pressure started so young. Needless to say, we didn't have a successful training "session" this morning.

I put both girls down after we sang our nightly songs and prayers were sung/prayed, when about 10 minutes later I hear (on the monitor) "Mommy, come quick! I need to use the potty!" Of course she does. Couldn't do it all day, but now, as I'm ready to settle in for some much needed ME TIME, she thinks she's ready to try again. So, we tried again. Yet again, unsuccessful. Question now I have is, was it a stall tactic to not go to sleep yet, or did she really think she needed to go? Ahhh, the many joys and challenges of having a 2 year old! But goodness knows, I still love her!