Easter

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday last week. The girls loved finding eggs and especially loved eating candy. The girls looked beautiful in their matching Easter dresses that were custom made by Grandma...thanks Grandma Pam! They especially loved the "princess" gloves that came with the dresses in their Easter package as well. Coleson, as always, was happy and handsome :).
Makinzie was very good at remembering the real reason for Easter. As we arrived at church someone asked her if the Easter bunny had visited and was good to her, she quickly leaned over and whispered in my ear that Easter isn't about the Easter bunny, it is only about Jesus and that He loved us so much that he died on the cross and then He was resurrected. I explained to her that they were just asking her about the Easter bunny to make her smile, hoping that she would talk for a minute and not be quite so shy :). We had been talking about Jesus dying on the cross all week because out here there are giant crosses put up in the lawn in front of all of the churches. Makinzie had asked lots of questions about why our church doesn't have a cross on it and we had talked about the fact that our church likes to celebrate Jesus' resurrection and that because of his resurrection we can all be resurrected and live with our Heavenly Father again some day. Makinzie is always excited about celebrating; she was very happy to explain how wonderful Jesus was to die for us and be resurrected to all of her friends and her teacher at school. I'm so glad that she is happy to bear her testimony of her Savior.

Teeny tiny traveling space

We are now counting down the months until we can get a new car. The little Toyota has been wonderful, but the kids are beginning to need a little extra elbow room in the car and we are having a hard time lifting Coleson's 40lb chair into the middle of the car just right so that it snaps in...hopefully the new car comes before mom needs a new back and Coleson gets in the middle of one too many fights between tired and frustrated sisters :)

Happy Birthday Daddy Ty!

Tyler's Birthday came 2 days after he matched into his radiology program, needless to say, it snuck up on me a little bit. Matching was a birthday present all it's own (at least that's what I tried to convince him of as we gave him his one tie for his birhtday from the whole fam :)), but we still decided to try and celebrate. We all went to the park to play a game of soccer and enjoy the play equipment and the WONDERFUL 70 degree weather! Then we came home so tired and worn out that we had crackers and hummus for dinner, then quickly sang Happy Birthday, ate our ice cream sundaes and the kids headed for bed. (The main problem stemmed from Addellyn being sick AGAIN!!! can you even believe it? so we had been up all night and somewhat grouchy all day) You have to love Birthdays as a parent, they just aren't quite the same (sorry Ty). Happy Birthday, we love you!

Drum Roll Please...

Well, Match Day came and went with BIG surprises...Tyler will be doing his radiology residency right here in NC! Yep, we're going to stay at Wake Forest for 4 more years (that was a surprise of its own). But, the real fun came when we found out that we will be going to Boise for the preliminary year of training. That's right...we'll move 2,500 miles at the end of May, and then come right back a year later. We are excited to get close to home for a while and happy Tyler will be getting his radiology training at one of the best programs in the country. The logistics of moving twice will be somewhat of a challenge, but the Lord must have a definite plan for us, so it will all be worth it in the end. Thanks to all for your support!

6 months old

There are moments during the past 6 months that have seemed miserably long... but, when it comes to Coleson, 6 months have flown by. We can't believe our tiny baby is now rolling around, playing with toys, wearing clothes for kids three times his age and enjoying the interaction of his sisters and anyone else that shows him a sweet smile...he is a JOY! We are so glad that he is a member of our family. Life just wouldn't be the same without him.

Coleson loves...shaking his new toy, having his shirt pulled over his head, chewing on his hands, watching other kids play, being tickled, playing peek-a-boo, and lots more!

Ear tubes for Addellyn

6 in the morning came very early the day after daylight savings. Addellyn assumed she was on a fun adventure with mommy and daddy all to herself as we waited in a very "kid friendly" waiting room. However, as soon as she recognized the doctors and nurses, she began to throw her usual doctor's office kicking and screaming temper tantrum. But, we couldn't blame her.

Once she saw the great toy room that she could run around in until the surgeons were ready, she began to calm down and serve us some well cooked breakfast :). Soon, the medicine they had given her kicked in and she was more than cooperative with the Anesthesiologist who came to carry her back to the operating table. The surgery went very well and very quickly. We were home again to recover by 9:30 am. We are glad that things went so well and that Addellyn is quickly getting back to life as usual.

Trips to the park

This is the crew, loaded and ready to go. They run to the door and prepare for adventure the second we mention outside or bye-bye...
We have been taking full advantage of better health and wonderful weather by walking to the park that is just a few blocks away nearly every day this week.

The girls love digging, swinging, and sliding. I love that they are not making a giant mess of the house and that they tire themselves out so that they crash at bedtime.

Addellyn especially loves playing peek-a-boo through the holes in the tunnel.

Coleson is very content just going along for the ride. He loves bouncing up and down in the pack on Dad. Ty is the only one willing to carry him on our long walks because he continues to grow at a phenomenal rate.

Gotta love the kids!

Coleson loves attention! It doesn't really matter who it is (though he definitely has a preference for Mommy!), as long as he has someone's attention. He does what he can to make things easier on us. For example, he has worked very hard to get into the same size diaper as Addellyn in less than six months so we don't have to buy two different sizes!
Mommy loves to give the attention, if only in spurts since the girls are pretty demanding, too. Still, she continues to do a fantastic job of raising the babies while Daddy is at school.


Addellyn doesn't say a whole lot, but she definitely let's herself be heard. Here she is getting ready for the day with her "progressive" style. She sure does keep us amused!

Makinzie really loves going for bike rides now that it is starting to get warmer outside. She may be a little nervous about the hills and roads, but with Mommy or Daddy close by she pedals anywhere we'll let her.

FEED ME!!

We LOVE to eat at our house. Makinzie has recently started trying to feed Coleson, who usually tries to eat and watch/listen to her all at the same time. However, when Kinzie tries to feed him, he thinks it's pretty funny to make it difficult on her.

Addellyn will eat most anything we put in front of her, but only if she does it herself and on her own schedule (slow and steady). Obviously, when it's a fudge-sicle, that can get a little messy. Coleson will eat anything he is offered and he also likes it at a certain schedule (fast and furious).

First pictures with the new camera

We gave up on TSA and decided we needed a new camera before our kids turned into teenagers...It was a wonderful Valentine's present for the whole family. Addellyn especially loves saying "Neese" with a huge cheesy grin and then running towards you before you can take the picture saying "Eee, meese." Makinzie is reading like crazy, every book we read and every sign we pass in the car she recognizes words and gets very excited about her new found knowledge.

Coleson is a champion eater. He eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner now, plus he tries to grab and eat anything in his reach...which his sisters think is very funny, so he has had a taste of saltine cracker, popsicle, sandwhich, sucker, fruit snack, you name it, he's tried it...


We have all had turns with yucky illnesses at our house the past month, some of us have had way worse turns than others, but I think we are finally seeing the light of a new day. Addellyn will be getting surgery next week to put tubes in her ears in hopes she won't have to be sick again...at least for a while. The "Harry Potter" scar, due to a bean bag jumping accident, is finally starting to fade as well.