James

As most of you know, Drew loves his trains and he has 30 of them now. But he knows which ones he has and he keeps track of them diligently (I wonder who taught him that!?!). Anyway, we had some friends over last week and since then, James has been missing. Every day Drew has a sad face and asks, "Where is James?" We looked some and then finally I thought I might know where James was. I did end up finding him and Drew was so relieved and happy. Of course, he's been playing with James more since locating this train and even on Sunday when we came home from church, Drew saw James on the counter and exclaimed, "James, I'm home!" and played with him for the afternoon. The cutest thing though was that last night when he was getting ready for bed, he came to give me and Dilan a kiss and when he did, he said, "Mommy, you are a precious mommy because you find things." It was so cute and it really is the simple things that they appreciate. I hope I can continue brushing up on my "finding" skills so I can stay precious to him. :)

Jelly Beans

Drew got in the car yesterday after preschool and said, "Mom, I have a surprise for you!" and proceeded to pull out a bag of jelly beans. He was so excited. Apparently, they ate jelly beans and talked about colors that day. This was how our conversation went:
Drew: "Mom, can I have one?"
Me: "Yes."
Drew: "I like the white one the best!"
Me: "What does it taste like?"
Drew: "Like SUGAR!"
Me: "Can I taste it to see what flavor it is?"
Drew: "No, it's mine." He puts it in his mouth and chews with a delighted look on his face and says, "Mmmmmm... sugar..." (I am imagining Homer Simpson here when he eats)

I guess it doesn't matter what candy actually tastes like as long as it tastes like sugar. :)

Family Photos - Spring 2009

Here are the ones we liked the best! Enjoy!

Another similar shot of them. I got pictures of Dilan in her blessing dress here because we didn't good pictures of her in it on the day she was blessed.

Supervisor

I finally did it! 4 years later of course from when I started the process. But I hung in there through all the hoops and things you have to go through to get this designation and it finally paid off. I am officially an AAMFT approved supervisor which means I can train other therapists who are working on getting their license. I had a goal of getting this before Dilan was born and I think I turned in the final paperwork only weeks before she arrived (of course it was round 2 of submitting the paperwork because the first time I did it we had issues). Anyway, I'm proud of this because I know what I went through to get it even though I won't be using it for a while.

Another comparison

Drew and Dilan at 6 weeks of age. Look alike?

Nikon D90 and 42" LCD HD 1080P TV

We made two new purchases over the last week. Yes, David keeps saying that we like to keep the economy afloat all by ourselves. But actually, David bought me this new camera. It is sweet and we are learning how to use it now. I am determined to be able to capture professional-like photos of our children. He did a lot of research and has been wanting to buy me a nice camera for a while. I finally got it - yeah!
Then, we went shopping last weekend because they had some good deals on tvs (due to march madness) and we still didn't have a tv that fit in our armoire for our bedroom. They had a special on the tv we wanted and David got the guy to knock $150 further off the price. Sweet deal! We are loving watching this new tv in our room at night and we have to force ourselves to turn it off and go to bed in order to get any sleep.

Pre-K No Go

Today was the Pre-K lottery day at the local preschool where Drew is zoned to attend - Peachtree City Elementary. I was there for the drawing - it was 30 kids for 20 spots and they did it bingo style. You had a number - Drew was #3, very fitting because that was David's number in sports and his favorite number, and it also showed that I was the third person to register him and have everything in order. I honestly thought we had a good chance. Part of the reason we rented the house we did was because if we were staying here for the second year, we'd want to get Drew into the PreK program and you really have to live within the boundaries to have a chance. Unfortunately, and you can probably guess where this is going, our number didn't come up. In fact, Drew is number 5 on the waiting list which is not good. It totally sucked and I was so bummed. Now we have to enroll him in his preschool for the 4 yr old class and pay monthly for the year. I love this preschool that he has been going to but I honestly didn't want to pay if we didn't have to. Of course, David is "relieved" because he didn't think Drew was ready to go 5 days a week from 7:30am-2:30pm which I can understand but still... ugh. Part of me wonders if this means we are moving. We'll find out in a few weeks if we will spend the next rotation here or somewhere else - so stay tuned.

6 weeks old

Dilan is 6 weeks old today. I went for my check-up and all is well! Dilan is growing and she is such a joy to have in our family. David and I feel so fortunate to have our big boy and our little baby girl. We are still adjusting to her not sleeping well at night but I know it's temporary and it will get better. At one month old, Dilan's weight was in the 58th percentile and her length was in the 64th percentile. She also is out of her newborn clothes and into the 0-3 month clothing.
I also finally feel like a real nursing mom. Sometimes I am still stunned it has worked out the way it has. I am getting used to feeding her in public, and the feeding taking a lot longer (at least at this point), and just everything that comes with it!

Bath time

Dilan's bath time is going well - the first couple she took, all she did was cry. But now I think she likes the warm water and enjoys getting clean. Drew loves to "give Dilan a bath" yet each time I actually put her in the water, he then mysteriously disappears. Maybe he just likes to see that she has to bathe like he has to. But I was excited to get this picture because she is starting to smile. :)

Drew's Builder Day

Drew had "Builder Day" at his school last Friday. David, Dilan and I were all able to attend! It was fun to see him saw, hammer, and use an old-timer screw-driver, but his favorite part was using glue to create some pictures. What a nice family day we had.

Brother and Sister?

So, my family and even other people have been telling me how much Dilan looks like Drew... I noticed it a little but it is getting more and more apparent. Check it out! :)

Dilan's first trip home to Houston/Dad's 60th Birthday Party

Dilan and I went home last weekend for my Dad's Surprise 60th Birthday party. My Dad was completely surprised by the party as well as our being there. We had all been planning this party for my dad for months now and I wasn't going to miss it. It was very special and we all worked hard on it. It was great to pull it off and to show him how much we all love him.
Dilan also got to see my mom again, meet her Popo (my mom's husband), and meet Uncle Damon, Aunt Amy, Lacey and Landon. It was a very special weekend.
Our next trip home will be for Easter and Drew gets to come along this time! :)

Snowday

It also snowed the day Dilan was blessed! It doesn't snow here often but when it did, it was quite a bit and very pretty. Drew and David went outside to build a snowman and they walked the block in the neighborhood to see it all. Aunt Lisa took some pictures for me (thanks, Lisa!) because I was inside feeding the baby. The only downside was that we did have tears when the snowman melted the next day...

Dilan's blessing

Dilan's blessing was Sunday, March 1. Her grandmother and aunt Lisa were both here for it which made it even more special. David actually had friends here in GA to ask to be in the circle with him which was so nice. Dilan started to fuss right before the blessing but when David took her up there she did great and didn't make a sound. Thanks to Colleen for a beautiful blessing dress that she will always treasure.

Two Kids

what I have learned about having two kids... if one is not crying, the other one is...

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!!!

My dad turns 60 years old today. I can't believe it. I can still remember when my parents turned 40 and I am not that far away from that age now. I am so fortunate to have my dad in my life - the fact that he's healthy and happy and that he loves me as much as he does. Here's a blog tribute to him! Some things about my dad:

My Dad has taught me how important education is which is a big reason I did as much schooling as I did.
My Dad taught me that family comes first.
My Dad has been there during the most significant times of my life including the birth of my two children (he was in the actual room when Drew was born)
My Dad is the smartest man I know (okay, yes, David does come to a close second!)
My Dad is a great example of how a man should provide for his family and even was able to pay for my undergraduate education in full so I had no debt when I got out of college.
My Dad took me to every Houston Oiler football game growing up which gave me the LOVE I have for football in general.
My Dad exposed me to traveling by bringing me along to the SWC basketball tournaments in Dallas and the WAC basketball tournaments in Las Vegas. I've also been to Reno, Hawaii, Utah, and Nashville for sporting events with my dad as well as a once in a lifetime trip to NYC just the two of us!

I love you, Dad, and happy birthday - wish I could be there with you to celebrate this wonderful milestone.

below is a picture of me and my dad when I graduated from college at UT - it is one of my favorites! :)

Mimi and Aunt Lisa's Visit

David's mom (aka Colleen or Mimi) and his older sister, Lisa, came in town this weekend to meet Dilan and be here for her blessing. It was so great having them here and it meant a lot that they would come all this way for our precious little girl. Friday night, David, Drew and Colleen went to the circus while Dilan and I stayed home and we all went shopping a bit on Saturday and then blessed Dilan on Sunday (pictures to come). The saddest part was that Dilan has the worst case of baby acne anyone has ever seen and she got it right before they came for the weekend. Luckily, it started to clear up and look better today or I was going to have to take her to the doctor. Even my friend, Jaimee, who is an ER nurse said I should call the dr. about it. You should have seen people staring at her at church - so sad. But no worries - I am going to get her professional photos taken in a few weeks and one will be in her blessing dress so I'll make sure she has good pictures of this time in her life. :)
We had a wonderful weekend with family and Drew was so sad today when they had to leave. He then asked me, "Who's coming next?" Unfortunately, we have had our visitors come and go but we are planning a trip to Houston for Easter!