Nolan's 3!

Nolan celebrated his 3rd birthday with a fun Toy Story party. I think he picked out his theme around Lily's birthday (in April). He had tons a fun! There were so many people there to show him love. Birthdays get more fun every year!

It is probably going to be hard to list all the things I want to remember here but I am going to try a few.

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  When he is praying (and sometimes he'll say it to me too), he says "God, I love you so good." and of course it is not nearly as cute when I write it out. But, I hope to be able to remember the way it sounds always.
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  He cannot say octopus, it is optagon. It's too cute to correct.
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  He now will be get dressed (and undressed and dressed again about a 10 times a day) all by himself. I don't think I was ready for this. It not something I taught him, he figured it out on his own. But, it really does help on busy mornings.
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  He shares very well. He always wants to make sure there is enough for Sissy, and Mommy, and Daddy.
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  He just started his new preschool class at church on Sundays and Wednesdays. No more nursery. Very emotional for Mommy, I cried a little after dropping him off.
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  He has started saying the prayer at meal times.  It goes something like this, "God I love you so good. Thank you for Daddy, watch over him at work, (something about make him stronger). Thank you for this food. Jesus, amen!"

I am sure there is so much more that I cannot think of right now. Nolan makes me fall in love with him more and more every day. He also makes me go crazy a few times a day too. I would not change one thing about my sweet boy. I am so excited to see what God has in store for his life!

And the Big finale present!

"Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

Painting

Lily doesn't really get the concept of painting yet. She thinks that is something very colorful to eat. But she is learning that is doesn't taste very good. Nolan takes his paintings very serious. And they are always for Daddy to take to work.

Father's Day

Our three year tradition has been to go to a playground at Smithville Lake for Father's Day. We have a picnic dinner and then play. Lots of fun. It is great to look back through the pictures and see how much they have grown. It was a beautifully blessed day!

Elephant Rocks

While visiting Nan and Pops in June we took the kids to Elephant Rocks. Nolan loved it! He took off as fast as he could up these huge rocks. He was a bit of a dare-devil, especially on the top. It was lots of fun and I am sure we'll be making many more trips as they get older.

Where oh where does the time go???

My babies are getting so big. Even though I see them everyday I am still amazed at how big and smart they are. Nolan is such a big boy. We have complete, real conversations all day long. When did this happen? When did he grow up on me? Lillian is as rotten as they come. :) She loves to do whatever she is not supposed. I hoping that she grows out of this stage soon. But as rotten as she is she is still so precious. This morning Tyler and I walked into her room and she looked up at us and just smiled the most beautiful smile in the world. What a wonderful way to start the day! I love love love my babies so much!

These pictures are from our Day out with Thomas trip. Lots of fun. Very hot!

Catching up

Wow, since I have posted last my little girl has turned 1 year old. Time flies so fast!

She is so big and so smart. Here are some of her latest achievements:

• At her last appointment she weighed 18 lbs. 10 oz. and was 29 inches tall.
• She is walking and running everywhere (she started walking the week of her 1st birthday).
• She has 4 teeth.
• She is a little girly girl...loves bows in her hair, normally always has at least one shoe on (if she doesn't have any she'll bring you one to put on her), and just recently she has started getting her fingernails painted (she Loves it!)
• She tries to talk a lot. She can say mama, dada, ball, milk, up, down, and she normally tries to say anything you ask her to say.
• She loves to climb on anything and everything. And she loves to try to get into trouble. She does things in a teasing manner to see what kind of reaction she can get from us.
• She loves snuggles and hugs and lots of kisses.
• She can follow simple commands very well.

She is my sweet baby girl. I am so proud of her. I know that the Lord has amazing things in store for her life!

I am in love...

With this handsome little boy!

Visiting Nan & Pops

We had a fun trip to Nan & Pops house this past weekend to celebrate Nan's birthday. Nolan loves birthdays. He likes to talk about who's birthday is next. I asked him if he would help me make Lily's birthday cake for her birthday. He said she wanted a strawberry birthday cake. That does not sound good to me at all but I am sure when her birthday comes he will remember and want to make one. We'll see.
Anyway back to our trip... My grandpa loves feeding babies (especially things he is not supposed to). Lily loves eating (especially things she is not supposed to). So they were a perfect match.

11 Months old!

I cannot believe that my baby girl is going to be a year old in less than one month. Unbelievable! She is growing up so fast. And she is so smart. Some of the things she does blows me away. The other day I was holding her baby doll and asked her who it was and she said "baby". Both Tyler and I looked at each other in amazement. Here are some more amazing things about my ll month old.

• She just recently started sleeping through the night. I must say it is about time! :)
• She is standing really well and has taken a few steps. But, I think it will be awhile before she actually starts walking.
• Loves baby dolls. She squeezes them and gives them kisses. She also has way too many. I think she has about 10 baby dolls. Yikes!
• She loves to snuggle, especially with her blankets. She is also very possessive of her blankets.
• She is starting to be very picky with her food. She doesn't like fruit, what child doesn't like fruit. She would rather eat green beans than fruit.

I am sure that there is so much more about her but I cannot think of any right now. Goodness, I love my baby girl!

I like this set of pictures, it shows her awesome climbing skills. She has taught herself how to get on and off of beds. She hasn't mastered getting on the couch but as you can see she has figured out how to get down.